Soul of a Smasher Vol I: Minuet of Link
by ClaudeLv250
Summary: After tragedy strikes Hyrule, Link is reborn in Centropolis. Living a simple life as a teen in high school with vague memories of his past, his soul is reawakened into a hero by Lucario, and he is urged to join the Smash Brotherhood to protect the Eight Worlds from Azazel and his demonic spawn.
1. Prologue: Dark Tides

**Soul of a Smasher: Minuet of Link**

By ClaudeLv250

**Introduction:** I've been mulling over this story for a while before fleshing it out. I always wanted to try writing a SSB story from a different angle and continuity than my main SSB series, Kirby's Insane Journey. From the corners of my imagination came Soul of a Smasher, a slightly darker, more serious story.

**Summary:** This is the first story of the series. This one in particular will focus on Link. After a particular tragedy, Link learns firsthand that the body can be harmed but the soul can never be destroyed. Living a new life, Link has mystifying visions of his past in Hyrule and the ones he left behind. With the help of Lucario and a scant few Smash Brothers, he will awaken to the hero he once was and ascend beyond that for the ensuing war. (I have a better summary in my profile, but it's spoilery.)

**Disclaimer:** Link, Super Smash Bros. and all related characters and properties belong to Nintendo and are used without permission. Don't sue me, I just like to write! All original characters and material are my creations. If I borrow something from other authors, I'll note it in the chapter.

* * *

**Prologue - Dark Tides**

It struck without warning, and soon the town was engulfed in flames. A wispy creature of darkness cut down guards in swaths, only turning on the fleeing populace at random. In one of its pale, bony hands was a ragged blade; its jovial wrath was indiscriminate as it hacked away at everything. Bodies littered the streets. Blood enveloped the cobblestones.

A single arrow passed through the floating figure, leaving no damage but incurring the demon's interest. It was the first attack 'landed' on it, and it wanted to congratulate the aggressor with its undivided attention.

Link strapped the bow onto the back of his green tunic and beneath his shield. He tightened his grip on Epona's saddle as his steed turned in the opposite direction. The wraith-like demon floated higher above the embers with a newfound enthusiasm; the sight of him excited it. Link could only furrow his brows at this behavior.

...Did it recognize him?

Epona shot through the gates and out of the Castle Town towards the Eldin providence. The demon gave chase without hesitation, its movement accompanied by the constant, agonized scream of a dying older man. Link shuddered as the wraith's scream drew closer.

The field opened up, giving Link leverage – or that was his intention. The demon caught up before he could take advantage of the situation, and he raised his shield a second before a stained blade burrowed into it. He could see every jagged tooth of the dirtied sword, the unnaturally long fingers tightening around its grip, the translucent, tattered cloak-like body it extended from, and a white, vein-laden face with empty eye sockets bearing a grin filled to the brim with razor teeth, two and three inches long each. And the smell...it could only be described as rancid.

"Will you die today, _Link?_" it hissed, its mouth unmoving.

Link responded with a swipe of the Master Sword. The demon receded only to return with another attack, which was once again deflected by the hero. This time he made a quick jab with the mythical blade. Though it passed through the wraith's body, the sword gleamed with searing light for a fraction of a second.

With a surprised wail, the demon was repelled, and Link's heart pumped with newborn courage knowing that the monster was indeed susceptible to attacks. But this revelation only served to infuriate the demon, and it was upon him with a flurry of strikes. As Link stopped the sword with his shield once again, his eyes widened in surprise as black fog materialized a second sword in the demon's other hand. It swiped at an upward arc and blood spewed into the air.

Epona collapsed into the mud, her fur and white mane stained in red and brown. Link rolled into a kneeling position and examined her from there. The wound was serious, but not fatal. Regardless, it was enough to put him over the edge.

Link growled and went on the offensive, unleashing a series of slashes and jabs. The demon deflected the attacks with both swords, though a few precise strikes connected. It learned to live with the pain from the Master Sword, but each strike that landed was taking its toll.

The wraith swooped into the air and pointed at Link. From the tip of its bony finger erupted a black bolt of lightning that ensnared the Hylian Shield. The electrical current passed to Link, and he tossed the shield away in desperation. It still coursed with lightning from the demon's spell. A second bolt was launched at the Master Sword but was cancelled out by the blade's own latent powers.

The demon descended upon Link again, and with only a sword for defense, wounds began to gather, as he was unable to parry every attack. The demon crossed its swords and locked them into an X shape around the guard of the Master Sword, lifting it out of Link's grip and tossing it behind him. Another lightning bolt was launched, this time at point blank range.

The currents racked Link's body with pain, then he began to feel numbness creep over him; his limbs refused to do as told, and it was a few seconds before it registered that the demon's blade was embedded in his stomach. The demon closed in, its horrific face inches away from Link's. At last, its mouth opened wide for a deep, triumphant chortle.

Link mustered enough control to shove a bomb into the demon's mouth. It backed off just as its head exploded, the force of the blast knocking Link off of his feet. He did not wait for the smoke to clear, and popped the cork from a glass bottle. The released fairy immediately came to his aid, sprinkling a healing dust onto his wounds, but a shrill cry signaled her demise. A black bolt disintegrated the fairy as the wraith proudly emerged from the cloud.

"Why harbor such anguish?" the demon inquired, studying Link's reaction. "She is neither first nor last to feel death's inviting embrace from Kneph!"

Kneph, the demon, lunged forward and buried his sword into Link once again. It brought its face to Link's, gleefully watching the life seep out of him.

"What a fruitless effort, boy," the wraith hissed, cupping Link's face with one pungent hand. "What could you possibly hope to accomplish with that bomb, hm?"

Link reached into the grass behind him, gripping the Master Sword. He responded to the taunt by shoving the blade into Kneph's face. An ear-splitting screech ripped though the Eldin providence. The sickening screams continued as Kneph rose into the air in retreat. The Master Sword fell back to the earth as the wraith disappeared into the clouds above.

"It wasn't fruitless after all," Link whispered. The demon's sword had disappeared when it fled, but the damage had already been done. He could feel his life slowly slipping away, and curiously enough, his senses became more acute of the nature that surrounded him. The sky was more vibrant than ever, the trees rustling in the wind calmed him, and the scent of the grass made him nostalgic. For that moment, he felt that death was not the punishment for failure in life, but a well-deserved rest for the weary.

"I'm sorry it ended like this...Epona..."

Epona released a sorrowful whinny in reply.

With the cool breeze and the blue sky as his guide, Link, hero of Hyrule, passed away.


	2. CH 1: The Same as Always

**Chapter 1 – The Same as Always**

Link awoke in a cold sweat, his eyes darting about. From the neon light of his alarm clock, he recognized the dark room as his own.

It was that same dream that jostled him awake. For years it would come to him in the dead of night; bits and pieces of a world he didn't recognize tantalized him. Most importantly, there was always a _monster_ present, and it _killed_ him. And predictably, there was that scream reverberating through the back of his mind.

Link, as he did countless nights, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. But as he closed his eyes, the image of the time was imprinted on his retinas: 6:29. And that meant...

All at once, Link was greeted with the blaring of his alarm, rising of the window blinds, and chatter of his TV. It was a measure taken by his mother to make sure he always got up on time for school, and it worked.

Link whipped his legs across the bed and onto the carpeted floor. He silenced the alarm and pressed a switch on the device next to it. A globe of light illuminated his room, overpowering the nascent morning light from the window. He sat there for a minute, watching the TV and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

The floating glass screen near the wall showed the image of a fox with long red hair draped over a pink shirt. It was Iris Aelita, the Centropolis News weather girl, and she pointed to an image of the Volesdale district – Link's home district.

"Those in Volesdale can enjoy lots of sun today with a slight wind. In the west, Deelburg should expect scattered showers..."

Iris adjusted her glasses as the image next to her changed to Deelburg. Link had already zoned out; his heart fluttered at the thought of another beautiful day.

"The Gardens should be radiant today," he said to himself. Hopping off of the bed, he crossed a pile of clothes to his open closet. An image from his dream flashed in his memory, but his smile only slightly faltered.

_Nothing is going to ruin this day_, he thought as he instinctively grabbed a green shirt and white jeans. On top of the forecast, today was the last day of school before the weekend, and he got a quick but delectable whiff of breakfast. But nothing excited him like a visit to Lucent Gardens.

"Nope, nothing," Link reassured himself out loud.

* * *

The school bus hovered to a stop in front of Volesdale High. Link poured onto the school grounds with the rest of the students. The mass of students littered the area, killing time before classes begun.

Link scoped the lawn for his friends to no avail. It didn't really matter, though – they'd find him eventually. They always did. With that in mind, he climbed the stairs to the school's entrance and was not surprised when a hand yanked his sandy hair, pulling him to the side of the sliding doors.

"You just gonna go to class without us?" Freddy Marshall, a redheaded teen in a black shirt and blue jeans, asked as Link pried away from his grasp. Next to him was Derwin Tate, a brown raccoon in a green jacket, white shirt and black pants.

"I looked for you guys, I swear," Link defended himself sheepishly.

"Sure you did," Derwin replied with a skeptical nod. "I sent you a message this morning. You never replied."

"Oh...must have been preoccupied." Link fished his phone out of his pocket saw the text message alert. "...'Bring food?' Really?"

"My dad's away again and you know my mom can't cook to save her life."

"That's true," Freddy agreed, ignoring Derwin's dirty look.

"Anyways, I'm dying for some real food! I know your mom always makes a great breakfast."

Link shrugged. "Sorry Derwin. I would have brought something if I knew."

"That's okay." Derwin grinned and pointed, "Hey, look who it is."

A girl with curly blonde hair walked by, carrying a school tablet against her chest. She stopped long enough to smile.

"_Hi Link,_" she greeted in a slow, sensual voice.

"Hey Hilda," Link responded, giving a half-wave as Hilda walked through the doors. He leaned against the metal banister when she was gone.

Freddy raised a brow, leaning forward and examining Link's face. "You're not giving her those googly-eyes you usually do. What's up with that?"

"You had that nightmare again, didn't you?" Derwin blurted out in realization.

Link was annoyed. His friends were putting more stock into it than he was. "I don't let it bother me anymore."

Freddy threw his arm around Link, tapping his forehead. "I'm tellin' you, lucid dreaming is the answer to your problems. Switch some details and kick that monster's ass!"

"Doesn't work. It's like it has to play out the same way every time."

"This is depressing," Derwin muttered, remembering Link's descriptions of his nightmare over the years. "Maybe we should change the subject."

"Fine by...?" Link stopped mid-sentence, sensing the presence before he felt a small wind brush against him. The stunned looks on his friends' faces only confirmed that something was behind him before he whipped around to see for himself.

Poised atop the banister was a blue, bipedal jackal. A single white spike protruded from its chest and the back of each hand. Its deep red eyes bore into Link, making him step back. An unsettling vulnerability crept along his back, as if his life and thoughts were an open book for the creature to read on a whim.

"You are Link Jensen, correct?"

The voice was low, stern, and gruff. Link nodded, though he could tell from the tone that the jackal knew that before he even posed the question.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Freddy inquired indignantly.

"Be silent!" the jackal demanded, pointing at the teen. Freddy jumped back in surprise when a blue spark ignited at the tip of his paw.

The jackal turned his immediate attention back on Link, unenthused by Freddy's cursing.

"Do you not wonder about the recurring nightmares you have? Many people have tried to explain or dissect them, but you found none of their answers satisfactory."

Link remained silent, but he could feel his heart rapidly beating within his chest. Something was stirring inside of him.

"You see sudden images and flashes of people and places you have never witnessed before. You feel nostalgic of times you can't recall. You ask your parents why you have pointed ears when they do not."

"And what's your point?" Link questioned. He was frightened, annoyed and enamored by the jackal's words. "You have answers that no one else has?"

"Meet me in the Lucent Gardens this afternoon if you are ready for the truth. _Come alone._" The jackal began to levitate and a fiery blue aura engulfed his feet. "What you learn you won't be able to deny." He disappeared in a blur, zipping back before launching over the roof of the school.

A commotion had started. If no one had noticed the jackal before, they did when a blue streak narrowly missed their heads. Thankfully for Link, the conversation was low enough that only those in the direct vicinity picked up anything useful from it. People had already known about his dreams; he didn't want to be associated with the jackal too.

Link replayed the event in his head but could still make no sense of the jackal's presence. The sudden appearance and the confrontation of Link's lingering questions...the acts were so _brazen_.

"Hey, Link!" Derwin shouted, shaking him out of his daze. "What are you going to do?"

He didn't have an answer.


	3. CH 2: Radiant Memories

**Chapter 2 – Radiant Memories**

The bell, which was just a simulated noise, rang throughout the school. The classroom doors slid shut automatically: a precaution against late students. Anyone that didn't make it on time had to suffer the consequences.

Link pulled out his school tablet from his brown backpack. A white plate bordered the clear, seventeen-inch tablet, bearing the logo for AvaDyne on its sides, which was the major electronics supplier for schools in Centropolis. He snapped the bottom connector to the socket at the far end of his desk, letting the school programs load across the screen in tandem with the electronic board at the front of the classroom.

"Alright class," Mr. Vaughn called, running a hand through the synthetic hair used to cover his balding as he waited for the program to fully load, "turn in your homework."

Link heard an audible palm to the face in return. He grinned, knowing it was Freddy without having to look.

Touching the screen, he guided the file to the icon resembling the teacher's desk. The homework had been a mini-quiz on Centropolian race relations over the past century.

With that task completed, Link propped his chin up on his palm while Mr. Vaughn started the lesson plan. He let his mind wander back to the jackal and his words. There was no denying that he knew something on the passing mysteries of Link's dreams, not that he _wanted_ to deny what the jackal knew. Class had started soon after the encounter, so he wasn't able to have much of a discussion about it with his friends.

He turned to the window half expecting to find the jackal's hard gaze upon him again, but instead caught a glimpse of the wraith from his nightmare. He blinked and it was gone – nothing more than a street with cars hovering by in front of an auto shop. He was relieved since it was just another flash, but it left him a little edgy, a fact that became evident when he leapt in his seat after Mr. Vaughn slammed an old-fashioned ruler onto his desk.

"Daydreaming again, Mr. Jensen?" Mr. Vaughn asked with a hint of agitation. The small traces of a grin showed that he enjoyed spooking Link. "You won't be able to dawdle in those Gardens you love so much if you get detention."

"That's rank."

"You can join him Mr. Marshall. Now pay attention or the both of you **will** stay after school."

Mr. Vaughn was known as a hardass so Link had learned to live with his bitter ways. In fact, he welcomed the distraction of his teacher's sour personality. But in the instant that the wraith's image disappeared, Link had made a quick and effortless decision.

He was going to meet the jackal.

* * *

Link grimaced at the food on his tray as he approached the opposite side of the cafeteria table where Derwin sat. He understood the health craze, but the vegetable medley looked like it was grown in a swamp, and the meat had a plastic sheen to it. But even less appealing than the meal was the horrified look on Derwin's face.

"You're not actually considering going, are you?"

Link sat down without a reply.

"You are, aren't you? Freddy, he's gonna go!"

"Aaahhh..." Freddy uttered in contemplation, also taking a seat. "I probably would too, even though it sounds like a really bad idea."

"It **is** a bad idea," Link admitted, staring into his tray. "But I don't think I'll get another opportunity like this again. That jackal said everything I wanted to hear."

"All the more reason not to go," Derwin said. "He looks like a pokemon to me. What's a pokemon gonna get outta telling you about your dreams?"

Freddy laughed. "It's simpler than that. He thinks he's tough. That guy basically said 'meet me after school.' He probably wants to beat you up and tell all of his friends. It's not like your nightmares are a secret."

Derwin narrowed his eyes. "I bet he's from Centro High. All the kids from there are douchebags."

"Derwin, pokemon don't go to school," Link halfheartedly informed his friend.

"They don't talk either. Explain that one! Yeah, you can't, can you?"

"Maybe I'll ask him."

Jake, a particularly nosy kid, peered over Link's shoulder. "Hey Link, what did that blue guy want from you?"

"None of your business!" Freddy snapped, brandishing his fist in Jake's direction. "It's a secret to everybody."

"Screw you guys anyway," Jake declared, his ego slightly deflated.

Link sighed, pushing his tray away. "Now people are suspicious of me. Yet another reason why I want to get this over with."

"Link, Jake is in everybody's business. It's what he does," Freddy stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, nothing to get upset over." Derwin's eyes lit up with Link's tray in his sights. "Soooo...since you don't seem to be hungry..."

Link knew the drill and slid the tray over to Derwin. His bushy tail whipped in excitement until Freddy poked him in his stomach.

"And this, my friend, is why you're starting to pack on the pounds."

"Kiss my ass, Freddy."

"Don't be so sensitive!"

Link smiled at his friends' bickering, remembering why he didn't need to care about what anyone else thought about him.

* * *

The last moments before departure were silent and awkward. The trio of friends stood along the walkway outside of the school as students happily evacuated in a weekend dash. With school out, Link's stomach fluttered with anxiety and a bit of excitement. Now that the moment had arrived, no one was quite sure what to say.

"So, uh...I'll see you guys later. Maybe," Link offered weakly.

Freddy pounded his first into his palm. "If that pokemon tries to fight you, we'll all kick his ass, right?"

"Yeah, _right_."

"You sure you don't want us to come too?" Derwin asked, confliction written across his face.

"He said come alone. He might blow his top if you guys came along, or he might just leave altogether."

"Okay..."

Link's bus was preparing to leave, but he had no intention of catching it. The Lucent Gardens were only a few blocks behind the school and within a comfortable walking distance. And so he departed, leaving a forlorn silence in his wake.

The mix of emotions continued to churn in his stomach along the way, but as he approached the natural paradise, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. The walkway gave way to a stone-laden path through the grass, leaving the metal and concrete of Centropolis behind. The host of flora grew in bursts, a stark contrast to the implanted line of trees along certain roads in the city.

He passed under a series of stone archways and stopped in front of a fountain. Granite flowers fed water into the center pool. Beyond the fountain was a small forest that he liked to explore in earlier years.

Looking back, he could still see the buildings of the Centropolis towering into the sky, including the triple stacker – the government building in the center of the city that was topped off with three saucer-shaped floors. Within the forest, the canopy of trees masked the city, and Link would pretend that he had stepped into another world.

Link saw the blur this time as it darted from the direction of the forest. With a swift leap, the jackal nimbly planted itself on the edge of the fountain. Link felt an overbearing presence exuding from it; he was staring into a power he couldn't see, and yet all of his senses tingled in awareness.

"You've come," the jackal began, "but are you prepared to learn the truth?"

Link's gaze was fixated on the jackal, and in the direct sunlight, his earlier suspicions were confirmed – its mouth was unmoving. The voice was as demanding and gruff as ever, but there was a slight, nearly indiscernible echo in the back of his head, one he originally chalked up to imagination during the shock and confusion of their first encounter. But now he was certain. This was the power of telepathy.

He had no doubt in his mind that he wasn't being strung along.

"I've had these questions for as long as I can remember. If I don't get answers now, they'll haunt me forever."

There was no overt reaction from the jackal. "As I mentioned before, once you learn the truth, you won't be able to deny it. There is much more happening in this universe than the denizens of this city realize, and it's tied to your sealed memories. Once they are unlocked, you will have to make a choice. You can pretend that what you learn here has no bearing on your life, but your soul will always know the truth. "

"Tell me...everything."


	4. CH 3: Link's Awakening

**Chapter 3 – Link's Awakening**

"I am Lucario," the jackal finally introduced himself, stepping off of the fountain. "The dreams that you have are fractured memories from your past life."

Link blinked – it wasn't an explanation he was expecting. "You're talking about...reincarnation?"

"Yes. It's not an unfamiliar concept in this world."

"But it's never been proven."

"It is one of the laws of the universe. I know this for a fact," Lucario stated in a finite manner, giving Link the impression that he had no business questioning him on the subject. "This city is but one world. Surrounding this world is seven others. You are from the Fifth World, particularly a land known as Hyrule."

Hyrule. The name had a comforting familiarity to it, but Link could feel anger overtake him. There was something infuriating about Lucario's suggestion.

"You're crazy! How can I be from another world? I remember my childhood! My name is Link Jensen! I've always lived in the Volesdale district with my parents!"

"Calm yourself," Lucario stated, holding up a palm. "You know what I say is true; the proof is inside of you. You were a hero once. You can become that person again."

"I don't want to become someone else! I just wanted to know about the dreams."

"Very well. Let's see if these names help you.

"Ordon."

That familiarity returned, and a blurred image filled Link's mind. He had never heard the name before, and yet he was absolutely certain of its importance to him. Something that almost defined him.

"Ilia. Midna. Zelda. Epona."

The distress of lost companionship weaved its way into Link's heart. Why did these names bring him sorrow?

"Ganondorf."

Link gritted his teeth and balled his fists in reaction. That name brought forth an urge to protect and defend. He could only assume it was from the one whose name was given.

"Kneph."

The wraith flashed into Link's memory. He became frightened and angry at once.

"The monster. That has to be his name!" he shouted.

Lucario nodded. "The wraith that plagues your nightmares is a demon known as Kneph. The scene that invades your subconscious is most likely the last moments of your previous life."

"So it's real..." Link contemplated his dream. It wasn't just a nightmare. Now it was a tragedy. "This isn't enough. I need to know more! Who are these people? Why did I fight that thing?"

"Seize the emotions that have manifested! I am able to remove the barrier that has kept you in the dark for all of these years, if you will allow me to."

Link nodded, giving his consent. Lucario approached, clamping his aura-laced paws around Link's face. The blue flames burned calmly, emitting no heat that he could feel.

"Get away from him!"

Freddy and Derwin ran towards them with lose bricks snagged from the road as weapons. Lucario effortlessly encased them in a barrier, lifting them several feet off of the ground.

"Stop!" Link pleaded, breaking out of the trance. "I'll do whatever you want if you let them go!"

"No!" Lucario cried. He retracted his power, letting Freddy and Derwin drop into the grass. "This must be a decision you make on your own. I cannot influence you beyond bestowing you with the truth!"

Link was close enough to read Lucario's red eyes. There was a stern, almost alarmed gaze, but they held no malice towards him.

He turned back to assure his friends, "Guys, it's okay. I know what I'm doing."

Lucario did not hesitate in restarting the process.

"Focus on the feelings and images those names bring you. I will do the rest."

Link closed his eyes and concentrated on the image of a teenage girl. At first it was blurred, but details slowly came to him. Her blonde hair was cut short, and the look upon her face was one of light disapproval.

His senses kicked in next. Chilly water enveloped his ankles and he took in a deep breath of nature. The clean, pure air reminded him of the Lucent Gardens.

The image started to move, and the girl stepped over to a horse and began to brush the white mane. The girl's mouth was moving. He could tell she was scolding him. He even heard the voice in the back of his head, but it was muffled. And, just as he reached out to grab hold of the memory, it shattered into fragments, and behind them were thousands of other scenes, all from the life left behind.

"It all makes sense now...I can't believe I forgot them...Ilia...Epona..."

The dam holding back the memories and the power behind them was ready to burst. "_Do you accept this as the truth? Will you fully embrace the knowledge you now possess?_" Lucario growled, the wall fully in his grasp.

"Yes!"

"Then it is done. It is time to Awaken, Link."

Lucario leapt back as an inner light ripped through Link's body before fully engulfing him in a sparkling pillar. His friends were on their toes. They wanted to help, but what was before them was a complete anomaly.

The light receded, revealing a kneeling man. A green tunic covered the light chainmail on his body and a pair of brown and black gauntlets fortified his forearms. Nestled upon his head was a green hat, the length of which ran past his shoulders.

"Whoa!" Derwin cried, causing Link to stand tall and inspect himself.

There was a moment of acceptance and denial. He knew who and what he had become; his body was taller and there was muscle. And yet that meant that the body of the laid back fourteen year old had been replaced. Link Jensen had vanished, and in his place was the savior of Hyrule.

"I would suggest that you take a rest – you now possess the memories of two lives. Your mind will be jumbled in confusion as you place a mental timeline and separate the memories."

Lucario promptly turned his back, looking over towards the forest. Link immediately knew what he meant, as trying to recollect his Hyrulean existence summoned a freight train of memories, and not all in the proper order. It made him slightly nauseous.

But one thing he was absolutely certain about were the two friends that came for him even after he told them not to. He felt that they deserved an explanation, even if he wasn't sure of the circumstances himself.

As Link approached, Freddy narrowed his eyes and readied himself in a defensive crouch. Derwin was distraught, both from Link's appearance and Freddy's reaction.

"Are you the same person?" Freddy asked in an unusual murmur. "You look like you, except a little older and ready to kick somebody's ass."

"It's me, guys."

"Prove it. Tell us something only we would know."

Link sighed. "When we were in middle school, you tried to scare the janitor with a paint bomb in his mop bucket, but he saw you coming and scared you before you could drop it in. You hid in the bathroom for the rest of the day because you were covered in paint **and** you pissed yourself." A grin crept along his face as Derwin stifled a laugh.

"All right, you're the real thing," Freddy admitted begrudgingly. "So, uh...what exactly is going on?"

"To be perfectly honest, I'm still a little confused myself. What I do know is that it started when I died..."

* * *

_**Link is back! He has his memories, but it's only a matter of time before he must confront what he left behind when he died. Things should start picking up from here on out, and more Smash Brothers will enter the storyline.**_


	5. CH 4: Beyond the Veil

_**Warning! This chapter has a lot of exhibition. I don't find that too fun to write which is why it took me awhile to get through it. But it has to be done for the sake of the story.**_

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Beyond the Veil**

Link and his friends sat under one of the stone arches as he recalled moments from his old life. He knew it would be a hard tale to sell, but his exploits within Hyrule entranced Freddy and Derwin. Lucario continued to stand rigid at the fountain, easily mistakable for a statue if not for the occasional sway of his blue tail.

Laying his back against the arch, Link felt exposed. Something was missing.

"So this world has no technology?" Freddy asked, a little skeptical. It wasn't the first time he touched the subject. "And you didn't pull your hair out?"

"There's some technology, but it's nothing like Centropolis. I think Hyrule more than makes up for it with its beauty and lore."

"So you cut down this Twilight stuff and the monsters in it," Derwin began excitedly, "you must have like, special abilities...right?"

Freddy raised his brows at the thought. "You mean magic and superpowers and stuff like that? How much of that really exists? I mean, besides him over there."

"Well, there's that Sonic guy and-"

"Puh-lease! Where's the proof behind him?"

"I don't know about him," Link interjected back into his own conversation, "but things like magic are quite common in Hyrule. I wasn't a mage or anything like that, but I had..." He inadvertently solved the mystery. Now he understood what was missing: his personal arsenal. Not a single tool remained on him, all likely still in Hyrule.

"Well I had special equipment, some of it enchanted. For example, there was the Gale Boomerang, which could create whirlwinds with a single revolution."

"See!" Derwin gloated to Freddy. "Magic is real! I bet you can give that pokemon a run for his money."

Link was puzzled. "Why? I don't want to fight him. He's not my enemy."

Freddy leaned forward and said in a hushed voice, "Since we're on the subject, how much do you really know about this Lucario guy? Don't you find it weird that he knows so much about you and your past life but all you know about him is his name?"

"Freddy's right," Derwin added. "He helped you solve the mystery of your dreams but why did he go through all the trouble of hunting you down? I still don't trust this guy."

Link suddenly stood from his seat on the ground. "Then it's time to find out. No more lounging around; I know who I am now and everything I lived through in the past. It's time for him to tell me the rest of his story."

He led the way back to the fountain where Lucario had planted himself for the hour that it took him to recollect and tell moments of his past life to his friends.

"Alright Lucario, it's time for you to tell me everything. Where did that demon come from and what did it want? And why did you come looking for me?"

The pokemon turned slowly to face Link, but then his eyes darted to Freddy and Derwin. He was hesitating.

"Whatever you tell me, I'm going to tell them anyway," Link admitted. A sigh escaped Lucario's lips in contrast to his telepathy.

"Fine. As I said before, you can pretend that what I am going to tell you is not true and return to your meager lives, but your perspective on the universe will change." His words were harsh, but the lack of a response persuaded him to continue. "I explained to you earlier that this world is but one of several. The seven worlds are connected to this world, the central world. They rotate and revolve around it in many ways. These enclosed spheres that maintain life exist in a cold vacuum known as The Void."

"And Hyrule is one of these worlds orbiting Centropolis..." Link reconfirmed, trying to picture the scenario in his head.

"Why is this a secret?" Derwin wondered aloud. "They don't even talk about the possibility of other worlds outside of Centropolis in school. Why didn't anyone figure this out?"

"There are people in the city well aware of the nature of this universe. They have no reason to spread this information."

Lucario's tone made Derwin curious about what would happen if someone did go around speaking of other worlds. The theory existed, but no one with political power truly entertained it.

"A normal being with the knowledge of the worlds would have little means to do anything with it," Lucario said, as if reading Derwin's mind. "It takes incredible power or special technology to pierce the shell protecting the world. These are not readily available in the city."

"Oh...it still seems suspicious the way it's never brought up."

The mood changed. Link felt a sudden importance exuding from Lucario. "Link, these next two points I am going to make should highly interest you."

"Go on."

"The first is that Kneph is still alive and in Hyrule."

Link felt sick to his stomach. He had been so consumed with his past that it never occurred to him that the demon was still around.

"You severely wounded him in your previous fight...but a year after you died, he returned and continued to attack Hyrule. His actions puzzled me at one point, as you were his target."

Infuriated, Link replayed the last moments of his life in his head. Innocent people were slaughtered just to get to him, and now that scene had most likely repeated itself countless times, except there was no hero to stop Kneph. The bloodshed was pointless and mindless.

"Why would he come after me?"

"Deep within The Void is a being known as Azazel. He believes himself to be god," a hint of distaste lingered on Lucario's words. "He spawns demons from his own body. Kneph is his pawn, sent to the worlds with the goal of eliminating any hero with the power to challenge Azazel. You were a target because he wanted to get rid of you before you could cause him any problems."

"That's some pretty big stuff," Freddy said, airing his skepticism. "And the only one that knew all of this before was you?"

Lucario gazed down upon Freddy with indignation, but kept his composure. "Myself and the Brotherhood. Which brings me to my second point. It is within your nature to protect the innocent, Link. I know that at this very moment, you wish to return to Hyrule to defeat Kneph once and for all."

"Of course!" Link shouted. "That is why you recovered my memories, right? So I could finish what I started."

"I do not want to see a repeat of your last battle...there is a secret technique known as Ascension that will give you more power, power that could even rival my own. I can help you realize this power..."

Link narrowed his eyes. For such a hard and mysterious individual, Lucario was divulging a lot of information, and on top of that, offering power beyond his imagination. It set off his alarms.

"What's the catch?"

"Dedicate yourself to the cause and join the Brotherhood. We simply want to protect the universe from Azazel and his offspring."

"That's not a subtle request at all."

Lucario folded his arms under the spike in his chest. "I will not enable such power to those I don't feel I can trust."

Link looked to his friends. From their expressions, they had been pretty much lost in the conversation. The offer was sudden and he was unsure of his choice – he did not want to be hasty, but he also didn't want potentially powerful allies to slip through his fingers and leave Hyrule at Azazel's mercy.

"I'm not declining your offer, but there's still too much ambiguity. Even if we ultimately have the same goals, I don't know much about your Brotherhood. And I've never heard of this Ascension power, so you might want to elaborate."

Lucario nodded; it was a reasonable request. "Every being born within our universe has one of the nine elements that compose life linked to their soul. Ascension is simply fostering the relationship between the person and their element, bringing forth that power and allowing them to use it adeptly. Your element is that of Nature."

Link knew of the elements from both of his lives. Hyrule was filled with magic, while Centropolis ran on theories. But the news of nine specific elements and their tether to the soul was entirely new to him, as well as the news of his own element.

"Everyone's got an element, huh?" Freddy sneered, "what's mine, then?"

"Idiocy," Lucario replied bluntly, never turning an eye to him.

"Ohoho! That's almost as funny as the thought that a guy like you even knows what sarcasm is!"

"What makes you believe that I am being sarcastic?"

Derwin nudged his friend. "Looks like he got you there."

"Whose side are you on?" Freddy asked irately.

"Alright guys, you've had your fun, but it's time to go home," Link said. He ignored his friends protests as he asked Lucario, "will you take me to Hyrule?"

The pokemon nodded. "We can leave immediately." Lucario moved away from the fountain and out into the field, motioning for Link to follow him.

A slight guilt hit Link as he held his friends' shoulders. He had a request to make. "Guys, if I'm not back before nightfall, you have to tell my parents what happened to me."

Derwin's eyes widened. "What!"

Freddy's reaction wasn't much different. "You want us to tell your parents that you aged up a few years and then went to another world with a pokemon? You really think they're gonna believe that coming from a couple of teenagers?"

Link sighed. "It's better to tell them the truth than leave them in the dark. They're my parents."

"All right, we'll tell them," Derwin decided in a sudden moment of confidence. "But we're not responsible for their reactions!"

"Don't worry. I **will** come back," Link promised with a smile, "and I'll tell them everything that's happened myself. They'll believe me if I look like this."

Link backed away, fighting a heartrending chill that suggested that he wouldn't see his friends or parents for a long time...or possibly ever again. He would see to it that his promise would never be broken. He was so sure of it that any notion otherwise felt silly to him.

Approaching Lucario, he thought of what it would be like to step foot in Hyrule again. He felt a pang of excitement that quickly subsided with a sad realization.

"It's been so long since I died. No one can possibly be waiting for me."

"Each world exists within its own time axis. You may have spent fourteen years in Centropolis, but only four have passed in Hyrule."

"Seriously?"

Lucario nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

_**And that concludes the first stretch of the story. Several SSB characters will make their debuts in the next few chapters as the story moves to Hyrule and picks up a bit. Kneph has some revenge coming his way.**_


	6. CH 5: Hyrule, Land of Adventure

**_Chapter took longer than it should. Got a new computer recently. I've been caught up with that and all the new things that have opened with having an up to date comp (like new games), so my free time went there._**

If it wasn't clear from the beginning, this story features Twilight Princess Hyrule.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Hyrule, Land of Adventure**

"So...how do we get to Hyrule?" Link looked around the field and suddenly found his vision slightly obscured by a blue barrier. Lucario had encapsulated them with his power, and what started as a gradual lift into the air turned into a catapult into the skies. Link's stomach lurched from the force; his knees bent as he fought to stand. He felt a little resentment when he noticed that Lucario was completely unaffected by the trip.

Link looked to the land below. His friends had already disappeared when the Lucent Gardens shrank with the rest of Centropolis. They were far above the forests, mountains and skyscrapers. It reminded him of the school trip to the Centro district, capped off by a trip to the triple stacker government complex building. The trip itself was incredibly boring, but the view from the top was breathtaking. At the time, he quivered at the thought of getting too close to the windows. Now his fear of heights had subsided.

_I've been higher than this before_, he thought in reference to the City in the Sky. Their flight slowed to a drift; from there, Link could see that they were level with clouds in the distance, and the ocean expanded below in every direction beyond Centropolis.

Link felt it safe to stand tall once again, though he left the discontent clear on his face. "You want to warn somebody next time?"

"I'm warning you now," Lucario said briskly. "Steel your mind. The Void is ravenous not only to the body, but the mind."

"We're at the barrier? All I see is more sky."

"That's what you're supposed to see."

The aura bubble crept forward and a nearly invisible substance enveloped Lucario; to Link, it appeared as if Lucario submerged into crystal clear water. He felt a sudden iciness as he passed through as well, but what alarmed him was the sudden change of their surroundings.

A murky darkness outstretched endlessly. He blinked as he attempted to make out what he was looking at. It was dark and shapeless enough to baffle him, yet bright and actively shifting and swirling. The vacuum eluded his understanding; he could not decide if the shadowy world resided in the distance that he could see but never reach, or if it was suffocating the aura bubble around them. At least he understood why it was called The Void – there was nothing of note here but itself, whatever that darkness truly was.

Behind them was a gleaming sphere of life, large enough to contain Centropolis. An oblivious existence protected by a glass-like shield. If only the people knew how close they were to being swallowed up by an infinite black hole. The flimsy protection scared Link, though he rationalized that it had to be pretty durable for the world to exist for so long.

Link found that the only sign he could pick up of their movement was from Centropolis shrinking in the distance, appearing as nothing but a ball of light in the churning darkness. Soon, he found his conviction disappearing along with it. Like Hyrule, he had left Centropolis behind in flash…and he wasn't entirely sure why. He had lost his life to the demon Kneph once before, and even if the people he loved were still around, he had died on them. They had moved on without him, and reappearing would complicate matters. Freddy and Derwin would similarly continue on with their lives if he never returned. And though his parents would mourn his disappearance, they weren't too old to restart a family.

And suddenly, even that didn't matter. If the sphere protecting Hyrule was as puny as Centropolis's, it would only be a matter of time before it collapsed under the pressure of the void. If the barriers held up by some miracle, there was still Azazel out there. A being that reveled in this depressing vacuum…

"Why am I even here..."

"Don't let it influence you," Lucario growled. "The Void will deteriorate your mental stability."

Link sighed. "How did I let you drag me into this?"

"Stop whining and remember why you left."

"Kneph won once before. Who would even want me back after failing to get rid of him?"

"So you would let the demon have his way with your home and the people in it? This pathetic mass, this _excuse_ for a fallen hero is not the soul that I awakened in the Gardens."

That stung.

Link's pride would not allow himself to remain quiet. "Pathetic? Excuse? I brought peace to Hyrule AND the Twilight Realm. You went through a lot of trouble to help me remember, so what's with the attitude? Who are you to even deny what I've done in the past?"

"Exactly. So why let a faceless void or even a cowardly demon rip that determination away from you? What command do they have over your actions?"

"I...what was that?" Link questioned, rubbing his temples. He felt shame in his behavior. "What came over me?"

"You do not belong in this space. No one does."

Any dread from the idea of being trapped in The Void any longer peeled away as the bright light of another sphere filled Link's eyes. He did not have to see inside to know where they were, and Lucario wasted no time hurtling the aura bubble towards their destination. They pierced the barrier in an instant and lowered through the blue skies towards rolling green hills that Link longed for without being truly aware.

The bubble disappeared when they touched down, allowing a strong gust of wind to whip against their backs.

"That was fast," Link said, still taking in the reality of Hyrule.

"If you believe so."

Link allowed his lungs to expand with the crisp air of the field. Centropolis was no slouch when it came to keeping the city air clean, but there was something unfiltered, something **pure** about Hyrule's air. But unfinished business didn't allow him to fully enjoy the moment.

"So Kneph is still somewhere in the land…"

"When he becomes aware of your return, he will show himself." Lucario's voice was monotone and devoid of any real concern.

"I'm defenseless at the moment. I don't even know where the Master Sword is."

"…I have arranged a meeting for us with the princess."

Link turned to face him. "Really? You're in touch with Zelda?"

"Yes. Someone had to do something in your absence." Lucario's feet left the ground. He was levitating, and Link realized that he was about to dart away like he had several times before.

"Wait, where are you going!" Link cried out. He couldn't believe that he was about to be ditched under such circumstances.

"I must check on some comrades. I will meet you at the castle."

Link sighed as Lucario was gone in a blur, heading in the direction of Death Mountain. He surmised that the 'comrades' were part of the Brotherhood, and he had a fleeting thought about how long these people could have been stationed in Hyrule.

The castle stood in the distance. From what Link could tell, it was in better condition than he remembered, which made him want to reach its gates all the more.

A path carved into the earth itself presented itself to Link, a literal straight and narrow path from the Faron Province to the Castle Town. He began his trek between the rocky walls with memories drifting into his mind; he was quite familiar with this road and had traversed it multiple times with Epona. He yearned for his steed, but he would have to face facts eventually on her fate.

Lucario had never bothered to mention her. Were animals also part of the reincarnation cycle? Maybe she survived the battle with Kneph…after all, Link had managed to severely wound the demon and prompt his retreat. Perhaps Lucario simply did not care about Epona, as he saw no use for her in his war against Azazel.

Link was allowed to dwell on his hopes and troubles even as he emerged from the path, a fact he slowly began to realize. The journey was uneventful. Even the Bulblins, ever mischievous, were nowhere to be found. The foreboding nature of his sudden awareness increased tenfold when he approached the entrance to the town.

Twin staircases lead up to a fortified door, and between the staircases was a fountain. It was just as he remembered, though now there was a graveyard off to the side by a rocky wall. Link knew upon sight that it could only be there for the victims of Kneph from the first attack, and he wondered how many more were buried here over the years. The graveyard was a constant and stark reminder set outside of a relatively lavish entrance.

Looking over the gravestones, Link could only wonder aloud, "Where is my grave?" He shuddered at the thought – maybe he didn't want to know. At least it wasn't here.

As he made his way through the gates, the two guards let him pass. The first held a stony expression, but the second could not hide his shock and confusion at the sight of Link. That quickly turned into scorn, his eyes bearing into the hero as he entered the town.

_They hate me_, he thought. _They hate me because I failed._

That inner turmoil subdued any nostalgia mustered by walking the streets of the Castle Town again. Link did notice that the bustling crowds had slightly thinned out, and a few of the buildings were abandoned, but there was still life in this town. He was glad to see it.

He turned down one of the smaller roads in hopes of not bringing much attention to himself before reaching the castle. It was plan that worked…for a moment, at least. His first clue to his discovery was the sensation of something pelting him in the back. He saw the stone clatter on the road; if it wasn't for the chainmail under his tunic, he really would have felt that one.

An indignant mob had formed behind him, and they were arming themselves with more than just stones. His heart sank into his stomach has his fears were realized.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" came a scream in the crowd. There was a demanding chorus in response.

He held up his hands and pleaded, "Wait! Just…wait!" How could he explain himself to them? To die on them and just come back years later…were there any words to alleviate their pain?

Link leaned to dodge another stone hurled at him. They didn't want to hear whatever he could say. That was clear from the fury and torment in their eyes and voices. But he returned to Hyrule with a mission to complete, and he had no intention of losing his life again, especially to the people he vowed to protect in some cruel twist of fate.

With no other option, Link ran. The mob of fifteen gave chase, and as Link periodically checked behind him, it seemed to grow by a person or two. If he kept running through the streets, the mob would continue to grow and eventually he'd slip up and they would catch him.

As he made a sharp turn around a house, he saw a moment of opportunity: there was a small space between two homes with thick, unkempt grass. He dove in and laid low, hoping his green tunic would help in camouflaging his body. The mob passed by and down what they assumed was the path Link had used to escape.

It was several minutes before Link dared to leave his hiding spot. He knew it was risky moving at all as long as remnants of the mob were in the town, waiting for him to show himself again. Telma's Bar was a possible safe haven, but he couldn't predict any of his old friends' reactions, and more importantly, he didn't want to attract the mob and draw innocents into their incensed attacks for helping him. He decided he was better off making his way to the castle, though that would be quite a task as the entrance still required him to pass by the town square.

As he crept through town, he kept to the shadows and moved behind homes. The town square was more of a circle, and he stayed close to the walls where the businesses were housed, including a restaurant with outdoor seating that, thankfully, wasn't too busy. He had no choice but to hurdle over a table where a few nobles were eating. They didn't recognize him, though if they had, they seemed offended merely by the fact that someone leapt over their meal.

At last, he made a dash and arrived at the corridor leading to the gates of the castle grounds. Lucario said that they were expected, so he was hoping that the guards didn't give him much trouble. He felt a slight resentment toward the pokemon once again. The trip would have been a lot less eventful had Lucario simply flown them to the castle when they first arrived.

"Halt," a guard commanded, approaching. His weary eyes examined Link's form twice over. "I don't know why she agreed to this, but you may pass," he growled. He didn't move, forcing Link to step around him. A second guard tightly gripped a spear as his eyes bore into Link, but allowed him to push the large door open.

Stepping onto the castle grounds, he found it bustling with guard activity. It came as no surprise as these were troubling times. The surrealism of Link's journey since he stepped foot in Hyrule was, strangely, dispelled by the towering castle before him. Its sturdy structure marked the final point of his greatest adventure, and the memories of the past pushed him forward. The excitement of an adventurer bubbled within him. A visit to the royal family was nothing to scoff at; it always meant something was around the corner, for better or for worse.

What Link knew for certain was that his next adventure had just begun.

* * *

**_From this point, more SSB characters should start entering the picture. Also, we haven't seen the last of Centropolis or its characters. Don't want to say more than that._**


	7. CH 6: Golden Princess

_**As hinted by the title, this chapter is very Zelda & Link centric. How will the princess react to the rebirth of Link?**_

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Golden Princess**

"Princess, he is here."

"Send him in."

The guard bowed before scurrying out of the room. A few moments later, Link wandered in, following the carpet to the throne. Statues of the three goddesses hung in the air, and below them was a throne, occupied the Royal Family: Princess Zelda. Link couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

Zelda launched herself from the throne, hiking up her dress and running towards Link. She drew to a stop inches away from him, slowly raising her left arm and caressing his face with her gloved hand.

"By the Goddesses, it's true! You are alive!"

Link was unsure of what to say. 'I'm back' sounded silly in light of the way he left, so he allowed the princess to soak in reality all on her own. But from behind Zelda, he spotted movement. He now understood why he didn't run into Lucario in the castle – he was already here, standing next to the throne.

"I…I will protect this land again, I swear it, princess."

"Of course. Hyrule needs you."

"I'm not sure if I'm worthy of its people."

Zelda retracted her hand. "What do you mean?"

"I was chased by an angry mob," Link admitted, averting his eyes from the princess.

"Are you okay?"

"I managed to lose them before they hurt me."

"That's not what I meant. For a valorous man to be chased away by the people he has sworn to protect…"

"I can understand why they were so angry. I failed them, and the demon has killed countless in my absence."

Zelda was in shock. This was a different side to Link, a side in angst, quietly seeking redemption.

"Oh, Link…you can't believe that, can you?"

Link gently held both of Zelda's hands and gave her a weak smile. "I appreciate that you don't hold my death against me, princess."

"Link, you misunderstand! The people are not hostile because they blame you for dying. They think you're an imposter!"

Link was speechless.

"Did you not see the fountain in the town square?"

Link shook his head, "I moved quickly, trying to keep out of sight."

Zelda immediately gripped his wrist and pulled him along, out of the throne room and on to the balcony. They climbed down the staircase and leaned over the stone barrier, looking upon the town below. Zelda pointed to the fountain in the center of the square. It was far, but Link could tell that the Triforce emblem had been replaced.

"It's…me," he whispered, a statue of him posing with sword and shield reflecting in his eyes. Why didn't he notice it before?

"You are a hero, Link. And you were remembered as one. That will never change."

"I just assumed…" he chuckled. "Well, it is easier to accept an imposter than someone returning from the dead."

The corners of Zelda's smile faltered slightly. "There have been persistent rumors that I've hired an imposter to appear throughout the land in order to raise the kingdom's morale."

The two fell silent, enjoying the weather. The sun was beaming but not overbearing due to the occasional gusts.

Zelda was the first to break the moment. "Please, tell me…how are you here? I saw your body after the battle…I was at the funeral. I was there when your tomb was sealed…how can you stand before me? Even as Lucario foretold of your return, I didn't believe him."

"It's a bizarre but thrilling story, princess…and it's not over. I'll tell you everything, but you have to tell me what your connection to Lucario is."

They were face to face when Link noticed that Lucario had followed them out of the throne room. He kept his distance at the top of the staircase, and his presence did not deter Zelda from beginning her tale.

"After you died, the demon was gone…we assumed that he had been slain or at least fled the land. We were only given a year to mourn you before he returned…nothing had changed for him. There is no method to his madness. Even the Gorons and Zoras have experienced loss from his random killing sprees."

Link's fist shook in rage. All of the killing was senseless.

"When it seemed all was lost," Zelda continued, placing a hand on Link's fist, "Lucario appeared and began repelling the demon's attacks. He has greatly helped Hyrule. We are in his debt."

Link felt a new sense of respect for Lucario. He was turned away from them, but Link was sure those keen ears were picking up every word.

"Have you met this Brotherhood he keeps talking about?"

"Not personally, but I know they've assisted in repelling the demon."

"He wants me to join them. I haven't turned him down but I'm not sure. He says he can give me more power…then maybe I can stop Kneph and avenge the fallen, like Epona…"

"All of this time, and you didn't know? Epona is fine."

Link was slack-jawed before releasing a huge sigh of relief. One less victim of Kneph's.

"When we found you, you were already gone…but Epona could be saved. I nursed her back to health myself. If it wasn't for the healing magic, she wouldn't have made it. Eventually, an Ordonian girl claimed her. The mayor's daughter, I believe. You should know her."

Link looked into the blue sky, knowing that his happiness would only be temporary with the demon on the loose. No more stalling. No more games. He was back and it was time to take immediate action to destroy Kneph and preserve what was left.

"Princess…what happened to my equipment? And the Master Sword? I don't want to give Kneph the opportunity to kill again."

"We buried your possessions with you in your tomb, in the Sacred Grove. The Master Sword was used to seal it."

"I need to leave for Ordon immediately."

"I'll come with you. We can take my caravan to the village."

"No way. I can't allow that. If Kneph even gets the slightest hint that I'm alive, he's going to come for me. I won't put you in danger."

"Did we not battle Ganondorf together?" Zelda didn't wait for a response and continued, "Then you know that I am quite capable."

"We didn't have a choice. The battlefield is no place for the Royal Family and I-"

"Shhhh," Zelda pushed her finger against Link's lips. "Every Hyrulean princess is born with magical prowess. I am no exception – I was taught skill with the rapier and in the magical arts, purely for defensive reasoning. I have abilities far beyond most of the denizens of this land, and as the sole remainder of the Royal Family, it is my job to oversee and protect the people."

Unlike most princesses, Link found Zelda as one to often wear a stony expression. It was an act of control, and he could only guess what happened in her life before he met her that drove her into wearing such a cold, calculated expression. But for just a moment, the eyes he peered into became a blue well of guilt – pain.

"Link, you died right outside of the town's perimeter. I could have been there," her voice cracked. "My repertoire of spells…the Light Arrows. Anything! We should have destroyed Kneph together. There was no reason for you to have died."

Link grabbed Zelda by the golden shoulder plates of her dress. "Princess, don't blame yourself. When I left Ordon, I knew the cost of being a warrior. It was my choice."

"And this choice is mine."

Link brushed back his hair and chuckled, "Alright, you win." Deep down he knew he couldn't actually stop Zelda from doing as she pleased. It would be better to watch over her than force her to follow his trail.

Zelda grinned. "I will inform the guard. We will depart immediately."

"I will accompany you," Lucario stated, appearing behind them. "I also seek the destruction of Kneph. And Link, I have decided that it is nearly time for you to meet the Brotherhood."

* * *

_**Things have been going relatively smoothly, but that obviously can't last. Besides Kneph, there are other dangers lurking in Hyrule.**_

_**By the end of the next chapter, we may see some more smash brothers and some action sequences.**_


	8. CH 7: The Journey Home

**_I cut this chapter shorter than I originally intended because I didn't want the last two scenes to suffer due to length. So, those scenes have become part of chapter 8._**

But in this chapter, Link draws ever closer to a new confrontation, and a meeting with the Brotherhood. But first, there is one other person from his old life he must see...

* * *

**Chapter 7 – The Journey Home**

The horse-drawn caravan pulled its occupants though the plains of the Faron province. It was heavily protected by guards clad in silver plate armor trimmed in gold, armed with halberds and swords. The Royal Guard had yet to be challenged by Kneph in his years of carnage, but they were well prepared for the possibility.

Within the caravan, Zelda sat next to Link as he told her about his new life in Centropolis and his eventual awakening by Lucario. The pokemon himself sat across from them, eerily quiet during the tale.

"I would like to visit this city someday," Zelda murmured as she tried to imagine the advanced technology.

"I'm sure we can arrange that. When everything is said and done, Lucario can take us there. I'll show you around and introduce you to my friends and parents."

There was no protest from Lucario. In fact, there was no acknowledgement from him at all. Link leaned forward and noticed that his eyes were closed. Was he asleep or simply paying them no mind? His curiosity got the better of him and he reached out his hand to poke him.

"He's sleeping," Zelda whispered, pulling him back.

"He nodded off? Huh."

"Lucario is very busy. He has kept contact with me at least once a week, and maintaining such powers must be taxing. We should leave him to his rest, however brief it may be."

Link leaned back, agreeing with the princess. There were no pressing matters he needed to bother Lucario with at the moment, though something did run across his mind time and again: Ascension. Lucario was decidedly vague on the process, but perhaps Zelda had more answers.

"Princess, what do you know about Ascension?"

"Hmm…is this the power Lucario promised you?" Zelda inquired. Link nodded. "I see. I am aware of it, and I know there are actually several ways to go about it. Generally, if you are to accept a powerful position that involves advanced magical abilities, Ascension is involved. Typically, those who have unlocked these powers are known as Elementalists. For example, the sages are ascended."

"And each one is assigned an element," Link concluded. It made sense to him when he thought about it, and it made him wonder how many of Hyrule's historical figures were Elementalists. As his mind wandered, he moved the red curtain that served as the door and peered outside to find that they were already in the Faron Woods.

One of the guards turned to see him. Those eyes shadowed by the rim of the helmet bore into him and judged him, even if it was just for a second. The Royal Guard followed every one of Zelda's commands without hesitation, yet they did not trust him. The princess could not force trust within them, and Link wouldn't dream of asking her to try. He would have to prove himself through the destruction of Kneph.

Link sat back and sighed. He knew Zelda was reading him before she even spoke.

"Don't worry about them," she comforted him. "The time for the truth is not far off. I would love to shout all the way to Death Mountain of your return and dispel the myth that you are an imposter, but such sensitive information will only invoke Kneph, and we are not quite ready to deal with him."

Link nodded and continued the trip in silence. He allowed nature to fill his senses. The hooves of the horses drummed against the ground and the scent of the forest wafted into the caravan. It was no secret to him now that his affinity for the Lucent Gardens stemmed from his locked memories of Hyrule.

The sound of running water jostled one of Link's memories and he immediately knew where they were. He leapt out of the caravan without a second thought. It didn't stop until Zelda emerged, but Link had already stepped onto the sand, allowing the shallow water of Ordon Spring to envelop his boots.

Off to the side were a girl and a horse. It was exactly like the memory he had, though every sense was met with the bluntness of reality. The girl hummed as she washed the horse, oblivious to Link's presence. The horse's dark and gentle eyes closed in on Link before she galloped towards him with an excited whinny, leaving the girl baffled.

"Epona," Link murmured as the horse nuzzled her head against his face, nearly knocking him down. He ran his fingers through her white mane. The gasp he heard beside him was of no surprise, though what he did see stunned him.

Ilia, his childhood friend, appeared before him much like in his memories, yet her normally short hair was down to her shoulders.

"It's me," he whispered.

"I-I…know. Epona would never run to a fake."

The ensuing silence was deafening. What was she thinking? What was _he_ thinking, showing up suddenly like this? The confused but hopeful look on Ilia's face quickly turned into anger. He knew that look well upon her.

"How could you let me think that you were dead?"

"Uh…?" Link was taken aback.

"Was this part of your cunning plan to fight the demon? Go underground and make everyone think you were dead?"

"What? There was no plan, I really- oof!"

Link was suddenly pushed into the water. Before he realized what happened, the girl had already stormed off, leaving him with Epona. Even though he was caught off guard, he shouldn't have been surprised. Ilia always had a temper.

Epona nuzzled his face again as he sat in the water.

"At least you're glad to see me…"

Ilia left the spring quickly, nearly charging into Zelda. She noticed the golden crown and purple and white dress adorning the princess. She backed away, gasping at the regal woman before her.

"You must be special to him," Zelda said, watching Link climb out of the water in the distance.

"You're…you are…" Ilia suddenly bowed. "Yes," she answered quickly. "We have known each other forever."

"I can see how his sudden return is so startling."

"Please tell me, did Link go into hiding? Were you involved in any plan?"

"Hm? Hiding? No, Link was truly resurrected. He was given another chance and he is here to stay. We should do what we can to help him destroy the demon once and for all. I assume keeping him dry would help."

Ilia blushed. The princess of Hyrule saw her behavior; she wanted to shrink and hide in the shrubbery. Most of all, she wanted to apologize to Link. He would have explained it to her if she had given him the chance.

She turned to face Link as he headed towards them with the reins of Epona gripped firmly.

"Link, I want-" her voiced was drowned out by a sudden explosion in the distance.

"That's in the direction of the village!" Link exclaimed. He climbed onto Epona with the same speed and skill from years gone by and raced down the forest trail.

"Wait!" Zelda called. "You don't have a weapon!"

"I'll find one!"

Zelda sighed when Link was gone.

"Princess, this is dangerous," one of the guards warned, knowing her intention.

"Follow him," she commanded. She stepped into the caravan and motioned for Ilia to get in. The girl obliged and froze when she saw Lucario sitting across from them.

"He is a friend," Zelda said. Ilia nodded but never took her eyes off of him. Lucario was wide awake and annoyed by the new attention.

"Link may need your help," the princess told him.

"It's not demon activity," Lucario stated apathetically.

"So you won't help him at all?"

"…I will if I must."

The caravan followed after Link to Ordon Village.

* * *

**_The village is under attack...and it's not a demon? Hmm..._**

There will definitely, without a doubt, be a little action in the next chapter. And maybe a Smash Brother or two...


	9. CH 8: Brotherhood

_**It took a while to get to this point, but we finally have a chapter with some action and a few new (but familiar) faces!**_

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Brotherhood**

Epona slowed to a trot as Link approached his old property. His home, built into a tree, still stood where he remembered it. In fact, the exterior hadn't changed at all. He kept a wooden sword and shield within his house, and though they weren't the most ideal equipment, it was better than being defenseless.

Once Epona stopped, uncertainty hit Link. He had been gone for years, so it was possible that this had become someone else's home since then. There was no telling what happened to his old possessions.

Another explosion went off in the village. It was smaller than the first, but the implications were unsettling. Link decided that he didn't have time to investigate his home; Epona galloped towards the site of battle.

A smoking crater greeted him near the entrance. Epona leapt it with ease, pulling them right into the battlefield, and revealing to Link why his trip to and from the Castle Town went by so smoothly: the bulblins had swarmed the village. More surprising to Link were the three cloaked figures fending them off, each equipped with a bow.

One of the figures was perched atop a home, releasing an arrow a group of bulblins attempting to storm into a home. The arrow exploded on impact, sending them all flying away. Link was quite familiar with the technique of bomb arrows as it was one he employed himself.

The clang of iron brought Link's attention to the home of Rusl, where his former mentor stood alone in defending his house from a converging group of bulblins. Link reacted, sending Epona charging into the crowd. Her powerful legs kicked and trampled bulblins in her way, scattering them in fear and confusion.

"I…don't believe it!" Rusl said in awe. The flawless image of Link before him caused him to remove his helmet for a better look. His eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but by the time he realized this, the bulbins had regrouped and surrounded them again.

Link cursed. He was still without a weapon and the hooded warriors would be unable to assist them with bomb arrows as they would be too risky to use on assailants so close. He dismounted Epona to fight them more directly, and that's when he saw the flash of a blade cut down several bulblins in three strokes.

The possessor of the sword moved with a speed and grace he had seen few exhibit before. More bulblins met the swordsman's blade in a whirling dance before they realized that they were outmatched. He halted, spinning the sword in his hand before aiming the blade to the ground. The swordsman turned to Link, letting his blue cape flutter in the wind.

"Armless…a dangerous miscalculation, yes?"

Link was greeted by the soft facial features of a man not much different from himself in age. A tiara sat atop the swordsman's blue hair, and he was lightly armored with shoulder and chest plates over his blue shirt and pants. He did not wait for a response before jumping back into the fray.

"Link!" a voice called. Link turned around in time to catch Rusl's sword. Instinctively, he tested it with a few slashes. The blade was sturdily crafted and would suffice; the thrill in his heart when wielding it made him realize that he missed the heat of battle.

Link nodded to Rusl before coming to the blue swordsman's aid. His new comrade may have had speed, but Link had power, and he was intent on using it. The swordsman's words had bothered him and made him feel like an amateur. He'd show him.

A few bulblins surrounded Link. Their confidence waned when he grinned, holding the sword behind him. He spun into a whirlwind, cutting down the multitude with a spin attack. Whatever devastation he felt he wrought upon them with that attack was doubled when the remaining bulbins were engulfed in an eruption of flames.

Flaming bulblins dashed by to dive into the lake, leaving a laughing warrior to admire his work.

"Where are you guys goin'?" the red-headed swordsman taunted spiritedly. "The fight's just getting started!"

"Actually," the other swordsman began, sheathing his blade, "I believe this battle is over." The remaining bulblin forces retreated while they still had the chance.

"Sucks. What's it take to get a decent fight around here?"

"You should watch what you wish for."

Link was thoroughly intrigued by these newcomers. He thought he was aware of most of notable swordsmen in Hyrule. Then again, a lot could have happened in four years.

Before he could even ask their names, he was tackled to the ground by one of the cloaked warriors. The figure removed the hood to reveal his face.

Link's jaw was agape. "Colin!"

"IT'S REALLY HIM!" the boy cried to the others.

Talo and Beth removed their cloaks as well, but that didn't compare to the shock Link felt seeing Colin. Colin, the sheepish boy that idolized him and found his inner courage in a dire situation. It looked like his maturing didn't stop in Link's absence.

The children surrounded him – though now they were nearly teenagers – and expressed their joy in seeing him alive.

"What do you guys think you're doing flipping around in cloaks and fighting bulblins?"

"We are the Night Stalkers!" Talo proclaimed with a leap.

"Someone had to pick up the slack," Beth said.

Link frowned. "Yeah, but…you're still kids. It's way too dangerous for you to be doing anything like that."

"We live in dangerous times."

"Don't be a know-it-all," Talo teased. "She's the one that made that big hole!"

"Hey, there were a lot of them, okay!"

"But five bombs on one arrow?"

The commotion drew the villagers from their hiding spots. The two newcomers were practically ignored in the face of Link's triumphant return. The red-headed swordsman looked a little annoyed, though his partner's expression was unreadable.

Colin hugged Link and whispered, "I knew you weren't dead." He looked up and beamed at his hero.

Link fell silent. He didn't want to crush the boy's spirits by telling him that he actually had died and was reincarnated. No, that was complex and unnecessary. All that mattered was that he was here now. That's all any of the kids needed to know.

A hand gripped his shoulder. "I don't know how you pulled it off, son, but I'm glad you're back."

Rusl's words made Link smile. That comfort reminded him of his own father back in Centropolis.

"No, you need it more than I do," Rusl said, declining as Link offered to return his sword.

"You made this; I can tell from the craftsmanship," Link admitted, fully admiring the blade. He pushed it into Rusl's arms. "I have a sword waiting for me."

Link remembered that he needed to thank the mysterious swordsmen, but before he could even approach them, the commotion turned to the arriving caravan surrounded by the Royal Guard. Ilia stepped out with the princess, and a different kind of panic ensued in the presence of Zelda. Royalty never visited the quaint village of Ordon.

"This way…quickly!" one of the swordsman said in a hushed voice. Link followed them back towards the entrance of the village. He didn't know why he did so, but he did find something trustworthy about them.

They reached the quiet area where Link's home resided. Standing alone in the center of the path was Lucario, and the pieces fell into place.

Link smirked. "Let me guess…you're part of this Brotherhood?"

"Correct," the blue swordsman responded. "I am Marth, and this is Roy."

"Heard a lot about you, Link," Roy said. "You're not half bad with a sword."

"We'll have to cut the chit-chat," Lucario announced suddenly. "Kneph is on the prowl. I can sense him."

Link was suddenly more aware of his surroundings. "I need the Master Sword. It's in the Sacred Grove."

"Then we leave immediately."

With the wave of his arm, Lucario encapsulated the four of them in another aura bubble, whisking them away and above the forest.

* * *

_**The bulblin attack was not as random as many have concluded it to be…but that alludes to something else entirely.**_

_**The children of Ordon are growing up and following in the footsteps of Link. Except for Malo. He'll always be a creepy baby with outrageous prices.**_

_**The Brotherhood shows its face. Everyone has a story and reason for joining – what could be Marth and Roy's?**_

_**And finally, a shout out: I borrowed the "Night Stalkers" name from Ishida Sasuke and his Smash X Evolution series.**_


	10. CH 9: Within the Grove

_**A slight bit of a change here – there's a split in perspective. Link's journey in Hyrule continues, but not all is perfect back in Centropolis.**_

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Within the Grove**

"Don't look at us like that. It's all true!"

Link's father, Albert Jensen, closed his eyes and released a sigh. His brown hair cast a shadow over his face from the dim light above. He squeezed the hand of his wife, Nora Jensen, who sat next to him at the table. On the other side were Derwin and Freddy, fulfilling their promise to Link by telling his parents everything. What started off as a retelling of the school day and encounters with Lucario slowly devolved into something more like an interrogation as Link's parents stood firmly in disbelief. It wasn't unexpected after all, it was a fantastic tale and few would believe it without seeing it.

Nora cast a glance to Albert before starting her plea. "Boys, look…if Link is doing something he isn't supposed to, it's okay. You can tell us. He might be angry with you but he'll realize it was for the best."

"But we TOLD you what happened!" Freddy cried, exasperated. Derwin stepped in.

"I know it's hard to believe, coming from Freddy and all, but I was there too. All of it is true. I mean, between the two of us, I'm not the liar."

Freddy gave Derwin a dirty look but left his defense alone; he'd allow himself to be painted out as a bad guy if it meant winning Link's parents over.

Albert sighed again. "Okay, let's say you're telling the truth. Where is this Lucario guy? If he came to the school, why weren't the parents notified?"

"It's not the first time a pokemon wandered onto school grounds, but it is the first time a talking pokemon came to confront anyone. He came and went pretty fast, and didn't really start any trouble…" Derwin could see that the Jensens were unmoving in his explanation. It was possibly damaging the believability of the story even more.

"Where can we speak to Lucario? Where is this 'grown-up' Link?" Albert questioned.

"We told you, they went to Hyrule."

Nora frowned. "Is that some kind of club in another district?"

"Why don't you get it!" Freddy exploded, leaping from his seat. "Yeah, it sounds crazy but it happened! Hyrule is a medieval fantasy land! This didn't come out of nowhere! Think about it: the pointy ears, the nightmares he still has all the time. We had the clues the whole time!"

Albert traded glances with Nora, "He told us he stopped having the nightmares…"

"Because you took him to a quack that was way off base!"

"Are you saying we're the problem?" Albert slowly rose to his feet in tandem with his anger. "We took Link to that psychiatrist to we could help him! Who are you to come into my house and criticize how I raise my son! You - the one that most likely got him into this mess!"

"Oh, it's so easy to blame the messenger! We kept our promise. Even if you finally do accept the truth, you can't do anything until Link comes back on his own."

Freddy stormed out of the apartment. Derwin grabbed his backpack and followed him out.

"It really is hard to believe," the raccoon said as they climbed down the staircase. "We need to get some proof."

Freddy threw his arms in the air. "Proof? What proof? The only proof we had flew away in a magic bubble!"

"Maybe we can get someone else to back up our story. We weren't the only ones that saw Lucario at school."

As they exited the apartment, the answer hit Derwin with the night air, "Oh, what about Hilda?"

"She went inside before Lucario showed up. Didn't see anything."

"Hmm…well there was Jake."

Freddy's eyes widened. "No! No way in _hell!_"

"Oh, come on! He saw what happened!"

"Yeah, and he's going to hold it over our heads until the day we die if we ask him for help! Screw that kid."

"**I'm** not ruling him out," Derwin stated decisively.

Freddy sighed. "So what do we do now? I don't think Link's comin' back before tomorrow."

"I better get home before my parents start checking up on me." Derwin looked up and saw Nora peering at them from a window. "I was hoping they would give us a ride home but…I guess that's out."

Freddy snorted. "Yeah, all right. See ya tomorrow."

* * *

The aura bubble glided over the Sacred Grove, hanging low to the canopy of trees. They were close enough that Link expected them to brush against the branches. Were they keeping out of Kneph's sight? He could only guess how close he was to a rematch with the demon that stole his life.

They suddenly stopped and lowered into the forest. The Sacred Grove was engulfed in a soft blue hue, adding mystery to the maze-like corridors running throughout the forest.

Link took a few steps forward and closed his eyes. There was an energy to the air, a familiar one that reminded him of the time he first came here with Midna. Something was watching and studying them, but it wasn't quite the sinister presence of a demon.

"Hey, you know this place," Roy said. "Lead the way."

Link turned to find the three of them waiting for his next move. Even Lucario took a passive stance, leaving Link in charge for the moment.

It was then that he realized that he didn't know where to lead them.

"Well…the Master Sword is at my tomb, and I don't really know where that is…" he rubbed the back of his head nervously. There was no overt reaction from the trio, but they were staring at him.

"If I had to guess, I think it would be near the ruins. So…this way."

Link knew his way through the Sacred Grove based on feeling. Because of that, it would have been hard for him to verbally direct anyone else through the forest, but simply being there elicited body memory – every twist and turn became instinct. It was necessary, as to any normal person, every section of the forest greatly resembled one another, and the few that didn't were sandwiched between even more identical areas. Of course, the deterring maze wasn't like that by accident.

Link wasn't allowed to display much of his own impressive navigational skills before their passage was blocked. A wooden marionette creature descended from the treetops with a giggle. A smile was stitched to its face under bulbous red eyes.

"Oh, not this guy again…" Link muttered, recognizing the skull kid. Even in times of crisis, he would still find a way to have his fun.

The skull kid raised the glowing lantern in its arm, casting a strange light on his straw hat and leaf mantle before giggling again.

"He likes to play games," Link warned. "We have to keep up with him or he won't leave us alone."

Lucario raised his palm, releasing a burst of aura energy from it. The skull kid was violently yanked through the air and into his grasp, where he held him close.

"There is a tomb here with a legendary sword. Show us the way or _die_."

The skull kid nodded vigorously.

"Or…we could do that," Link murmured.

Lucario released the skull kid. He scampered off, motioning for them to follow. The skull kid led them through the branching paths of the forest, and they were heading in the direction of the temple ruins as Link had guessed earlier.

They had arrived at a smaller set of ruins on the way, a place where man once dwelled long ago. In the center of the area were the remains of an ancient fountain, but most notable was the white monument built against an aging wall. Link saw the gleam of the Master Sword embedded at the very top. Seeing it helped fight the feeling that crept along him from looking at his own tomb.

One by one, they leapt down from the ridge into the ruins. The skull kid's body language changed and he climbed atop the fountain, pulling out a trumpet. A call echoed through the Sacred Grove from the instrument, summoning wooden puppets from the trees. They hovered above the ground, manipulated by invisible, magical wires at the behest of the skull kid.

Roy grinned. "This is more like it!" he exclaimed, unsheathing his sword. To his dismay, several of the puppets were blown to pieces by an explosion before he could do anything.

"Yoohoo!" a voice from above sang. A woman in a pink dress lowered from the trees, gliding slowly towards them with an open white umbrella. She tossed another bomb down, destroying the remaining puppets.

The skull kid let out another childish giggle as a sudden gust of wind blew leaves around him.

"Let's play again sometime!" he echoed, disappearing with the wind.

"What a waste," Roy whined, sheathing the sword. He went over to help the woman as she touched down on the ground.

"Hello!" she greeted, closing the umbrella. She stepped up to Link and did a curtsy. "I'm Princess Peach!"

Princess? The crown atop her blonde hair had given that away, though there was something foreign about her that Link couldn't entirely place. Her easy acceptance by the others could only mean she was a part of the Brotherhood. She didn't look the part even though she handled the bombs quite well, and most importantly, she was royalty.

Link looked to others, appalled by the revelation. "You'd have a princess fight in your war?"

"Why not? We have a prince as well," Roy said, nodding to Marth. For Link, that explained the tiara.

"Everyone stands to lose everything if Azazel wins," Peach said. Her voice was light and airy, but there was solemnness in what she said. Link didn't think to question her on the subject.

"We will help you get your weapons, but after that, you'll have to make a choice: you're either with us or you're not," Lucario stated suddenly. "I won't hold it against you, but any further information I'll divulge will be strictly between the Brotherhood."

That made Link feel like an outsider. He couldn't blame them though; he was purposely stalling because he couldn't reach a decision. The gleam of the Master Sword caught his eye again. At least there was certainty in his sword.

Standing in front of his tomb, he got a chance to examine it. It was smooth and crafted out of white marble. The designs on the sealed door of triforces and praises written in old Hylian were acute and exquisite. It was a tomb fit for royalty.

The sides of the tomb were slanted, allowing Link to climb to the top where the Master Sword was embedded into a new pedestal. The eyes bearing into him made him feel like he was performing for an audience as he rubbed his gloved hands together and gripped the hilt of the blade. One mighty tug and the sword was released – the mysterious blue hue of the forest receded as sunlight filtered through the treetops.

Any time to savor the moment was cut short; the sound of sliding stone filled the air. Link leapt down to find that the door had disappeared, opening a path down a short staircase into a tunnel of total darkness.

"Who wants to go in first?" Roy asked.

"I will keep watch," Lucario decided, folding his arms. "I still feel Kneph's presence."

"You'll need company," Peach offered. He didn't reply.

"Send us to do the dirty work!" Roy mockingly complained. He nudged Link, pushing him towards the entrance. "It's your tomb. Dead men first, I always say."

"Don't be insensitive," Marth warned as they journeyed inside.

Roy snickered. "What, too soon?"

Watching Link enter the tomb with the Master Sword was a sign of relief for Lucario. He wouldn't admit though, because that would bring attention to what was keeping him on edge. Though he mentioned sensing Kneph, he was purposely vague, for the demon was closer than ever since Link returned.

And Lucario knew a battle would erupt before sunset.

* * *

**Claudaily Reflection Moment – **_**Marth and Roy may resemble their personalities from my first SSB series, but there are some differences here. Roy is still a playful joker, but he'll have some serious moments. Marth is still the respectful prince, but due to some major events that happened before this story, he'll have an edge to him that hasn't been seen yet. There will be ample time for these characters to show all of their sides as the series progresses.**_


	11. CH 10: The Powerful & the Powerless

_**Link is in possession of the greatest sword in Hyrule's history, but there won't be much time to celebrate. And back in Centropolis, the rift created by his sudden departure only deepens...**_

* * *

**Chapter 10 – The Powerful & the Powerless**

The only light in the tunnel was creeping in from outside. That light itself was not particularly bright due to the canopy of trees soaking up the sunlight in the area. Needless to say, Link was longing for a lantern right about now, or even a flashlight; he was starting to regret leaving Centropolis so hastily without packing some modern conveniences.

A row of old torches lined each marble wall. Roy unsheathed his sword and pointed it against each torch, summoning a spark of flame that was just enough to ignite them. He took one off the wall and handed it to Link.

Outside, a conversation had started between Peach and Lucario. It was of no concern to Link, but his acute Hylian ears twitched out of instinct, picking up bits and pieces all the way through the corridor.

"Has Mario changed his mind?" Lucario asked. It was his same powerful voice, reduced to a whisper in the back of Link's head.

"No..." Peach answered sadly.

"And Luigi?"

"Still missing…"

More members of the Brotherhood? Was there trouble in the ranks? Maybe Roy would budge, but looking at Marth's stony expression in the torchlight told Link that he wouldn't get a real answer if he bothered to ask.

The dirt path eventually led to a circular room. Roy lit the remaining torches, filling it with light. On a pedestal in the center of the room was a marble casket.

"You're raiding your own tomb," Roy said. "Doesn't that feel weird?"

Link rolled his eyes as they surrounded the coffin. "Not until you said it…"

"Have you prepared yourself for what you may see?" Marth asked. Link nodded and gulped as the hoisted the top off of the coffin and set it aside.

There was a short silence. An assortment of tools and weapons sat within the coffin, but a body was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe someone got here before we did?" Roy suggested.

"It was sealed by the sword," Marth replied. "I do not believe this tomb has been disturbed."

Link rummaged through the items before securing each one while Marth and Roy discussed what may have happened to his old body. There was his trusty Hylian Shield, the sheathe for the Master Sword, the Gale Boomerang, an empty bomb bag and quiver, Hero's Bow, both clawshots, the Dominion Rod, and a few miscellaneous objects.

"The only stuff missing are the unwieldy things like my iron boots, ball and chain, and the spinner," Link spoke up. "But I kept those at home." There was no telling what happened to them.

Roy raised a brow, "You carry around a ball and chain? A little extreme, dontcha think?"

"I told you, I usually keep it at home."

"To pillage a tomb and take nothing of value makes little sense," Marth stated, countering Roy's earlier suggestion.

"Well Marth, maybe you can tell us what happened to his old body. Did it get up and walk away?"

Marth closed his eyes, ignoring the flippant remark. "Perhaps Lucario has the answer."

"Uh huh."

A thunderous voice rattled their minds.

"Come quickly!" Lucario demanded urgently. "He is here!"

The trio traded glances before dashing back through the tomb.

* * *

Derwin was comforted by the lights from the windows of his home. He unlocked the door and entered to find his father sitting in a recliner chair in the living room. The television was off and the older raccoon's dark eyes were fixated on him.

Neal Tate, a gray-furred raccoon much like his son, was known for his serious, sometimes uninviting demeanor. Growing up in a different, harsher period in Centropolis only solidified the wall he projected around his compassion – a wall that slowly began to crumble upon the inception of his own family. Unfortunately, facets of the curt, angry Neal were known to reemerge during heated moments.

Derwin knew that whenever any one of his parents sat there waiting for him, he was in trouble. Was he late? They would have called if they were worried…

"I'm home," he murmured.

"I got a call from Link's parents..." his father started. "What's this stuff about Link missing and you not telling them where he is?"

Derwin's heart skipped a beat. The last thing he needed was for his own parents to react the way Albert and Nora did.

"Did they tell you everything?"

"About the magical fantasy world and the pokemon? Yeah, you could have come up with something better than that. "

Maybe it was naïve for him to think the Jensens wouldn't have spread word, but at least he didn't have to go over every agonizing detail while getting increasingly incredulous looks along the way again.

"Everything I said is true! His nightmares were from his old life. Lucario took him back to Hyrule because of the demon."

Neal leaned forward, letting the light from the lamp pour onto his gray fur. He sighed and skeptically said, "So what you're saying is that the monster in his dreams is real and it's coming to get him?"

"Sorta – it's more like he's going after the demon. He's Hyrule's hero."

There was a short silence broken by a cynical laugh. "You really expect anyone to believe that? Did Freddy convince you that that was a good story?"

"Dad, I'm telling the truth!" Derwin whined. Neal rose from his seat.

"Enough!" he commanded, causing his son to flinch. "You can skip dinner and go straight to your room for the night until you decide to start telling the truth!"

"That's not fair! You're punishing me when I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Derwin, your best friend is missing and you're leaving his parents in the dark. You could stand a worse punishment; after all, you could benefit from skipping a meal or two."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?"

"If you gain any more weight, you won't need to catch the school bus. We can roll you down the street!"

Derwin narrowed his eyes. "You know, I'd expect something like that from the kids at school because they're jerkasses! But..but not you!"

"Derwin..." Neal began remorsefully, already regretting his words. But it was too late – the door had already been thrown open and his son disappeared into the cover of night.

"Come back!"

Neal ran to a closet for a jacket and flashlight and was startled by the presence of his wife. Tia, a brown raccoon, leaned against the wall. Her arms were folded over her blue sweatshirt and a deep, subtle fury emanated from her bright eyes.

"I usually stay out of your spats because you asked me to. Father-Son battles of testosterone, you call them. But you know what? What you said was low and uncalled for."

Neal looked away. "He's too sensitive for his own good..."

"Sensitivity is not a weakness! He doesn't have to put up with half the crap we did growing up as raccoons. It's a different era."

"He's going to need a thicker skin than what he's got now!"

Tia's hand slowly guided Neal's face, and his vision, to her own. "It's not about that at all. Kids can be cruel; don't you think he knows that firsthand? We are his _parents_: his safety net, his anchor, his validation. Anything we say will impact him a hundred times more than some brat at his school! Just imagine the teasing and insults he gets at school, and then imagine that coming from someone you love and respect unconditionally. It's like taking a knife to his heart, but trading the knife up for a sword."

"Alright!" Neal admitted, defeated. "I got caught up in the heat of the moment! I was still so frustrated about him lying. He's been friends with Link for so long, and I kept imagining what Albert and Nora were going through. Why won't he tell us the truth? And then there's his weight – I noticed he was putting on pounds but didn't want to say anything and hurt his feelings. We've been tiptoeing around that for too long."

The fire in Tia's eyes was long extinguished by a solemn and understanding gaze. "Hun...look, I know you made a mistake," she murmured, slipping on a coat. "Let's just find our son before this nightmare gets any worse."

Neal silently agreed, grabbing a flashlight as the two ventured out into the streets of the city.

* * *

Link, Marth and Roy exited the tomb, finding Peach and Lucario on alert. Their eyes were glued to the sky.

"Where is he!" Link growled, wielding the Master Sword.

"He's using the trees as cover," Lucario said, his paws brimming with power. "Such cowardice, but not unexpected."

"And this is a tight space. We are at a disadvantage," Marth noted.

"Then let's turn the tide a little!" Link shouted enthusiastically. He led them through a hole in one of the ancient walls and out into an open field: the ruins of the Temple of Time.

A wordless synergy manifested as the team spread out into a circle, keeping their immediate surroundings covered at all times. The trees back towards the tomb rustled. Kneph was still hiding, but now they knew exactly where he was...or so they thought. The rest of the trees in the forest began to swing and sway as the perimeter was blasted by a violent wind.

The scream that haunted Link's dreams for years pierced his ears, and a vision relegated to his subconscious was as real as possible when the wraith-like demon burst from the cover of the forest. A white ceramic mask covered his grotesque face, but holes remained to display the empty sockets that served as his eyes; two vacuums devoid of life and yet so full of malice, focused intensely on his being.

In the second that Link acknowledged the reality of the situation, Kneph had already swooped out of the sky, aiming his two rugged blades right for the Hylian's neck.

* * *

_**It's taken ten chapters to get here, but the rematch with Kneph is nigh. Link's got backup this time...but Kneph has some new tricks. Will he get his revenge on the demon?**_


	12. CH 11: Kneph Returns

_**It's the showdown you've all been waiting for! Personally, I was waiting for it too. I like to write battle scenes.**_

_**Link's revenge has been due since the prologue. Kneph is back, but now our hero has the support of the Brotherhood. Will their numbers overwhelm the demon, or will Azazel's spawn show off a few new tricks?**_

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Kneph Returns**

Link saw Kneph diving for him in slow motion. He gripped his shield and the Master Sword tightly, and yet he was numb, paralyzed by a burdening fear. It was the teenager inside of him, the fourteen year old tortured by that same scream, those empty eyes, and that ghostly visage every night.

This was his chance for vengeance!

He rationalized that he should, and could, slay this demon once and for all and that Link Jensen of Volesdale had nothing to worry about. Yet the fact remained that Kneph was the one opponent that bested him. There was a very real chance that he could lose his life again in this battle.

And that chance was right before him, represented by two blades that had seen countless deaths. The tips of the swords were aimed for his neck, ready to add another body to their count. He raised his shield in defense, but their clash was interrupted. A blue ball of energy whizzed by from Lucario's direction, only missing Kneph once the demon's reflexes kicked in and parried into the sky.

The aura sphere was too close for comfort for Link, as he could feel the electrifying energy jolting from the unstable nucleus. The sphere collided with a decaying wall and exploded, sending debris raining down onto the battlefield.

"What a novice mistake," Lucario chastised the demon almost playfully. "Always be aware of your surroundings."

Kneph's expression was unreadable behind the mask, but Link did notice something new in his motions: hesitation. Not only had he battled Lucario before, he was actually having second thoughts about continuing the fight.

"I came for _Link_," a raspy whisper slithered from behind the mask. "But I never revoke an invitation for death. Especially for your wretched group."

"Enough talk, cur," Marth spat, brandishing the Falchion. "Your misdeeds continue to seal your fate. There is only one acceptable outcome for this battle!"

Kneph made a mighty swing with his sword, whipping up a blade of air. Marth leapt back as the ground he once stood on split upon impact. He countered instantly, moving towards Kneph as a blue streak. Their swords clashed and locked before the demon released a burst of wind from his body, blowing Marth into the branches of a tree beyond the ruins.

The demon had little time to recover when Lucario charged him with Force Palm, shoving an aura-laced paw into the ceramic mask. He carried Kneph through the air, barreling into a temple barrier. The dust barely settled when a bolt of lightning struck Lucario and sent him crashing through an adjacent rocky wall.

Kneph emerged from the hole in the temple wall with another unholy wail. Link reached for the Hero's bow when he remembered that his quiver was devoid of arrows. Unfortunately for him, Kneph noticed this gesture and dove right for him. He prepared his shield, but a wind blast knocked him off his feet.

Kneph brought both swords down, but Link managed to stop them with the shield and Master Sword. The demon put pressure on the swords in a cross shape, forcing Link's back towards the ground.

"Hello, Link!" Kneph expressed with genuine delight. "Contrary to what you may think, I'm glad to see you. I've never had the opportunity to kill someone twice!"

Before Link could retort, the demon went up in a flash of flames. There was a shriek of surprise as the Sword of Seals cut through the wraith's body. He did a spin, releasing a blast a wind that extinguished the flames and sent Link and Roy rolling away.

"Now where were we?" Kneph began, but a turnip smacked against his head and rolled to a halt near Link's legs. The strange face upon the vegetable and the timing made the moment virtually comical, a thought that wasn't lost on the demon. His rage showed through his actions and he closed in on the princess. His swords disappeared in a smoky haze as he grabbed Peach by her neck and strangled her.

"Do you think that was funny?" Kneph hissed, choking the life out of the princess. Peach held tightly to the bony arms of the demon, lifting her legs and pummeling the mask with her heels. Eventually, a heel pierced into one of the empty eyeholes, annoying Kneph enough for him to throw her to the ground. She bounced hard with a short cry.

The harsh treatment of Peach enraged Link. Watching her suffer reminded him of all the people in Hyrule that faced similar attacks from Kneph. Years of death swooping in from the skies, picking off the people of his land for no reason beyond for the demon's own entertainment.

"_Shyaaaah!_" Link screamed, twisting into the air with a spin attack. The Master Sword gleamed with light as it passed through Kneph's form. The searing light sent Kneph reeling with a screech.

A black substance splattered across the grass, thick and opaque like sizzling oil. Link glanced at it as he landed perfectly, and then looked to find Kneph nursing one of his grotesque hands with more of the stuff oozing from it. Was this the demon equivalent of blood? Could a wraith even bleed? Link knew for sure that Kneph's hands and face were fully tangible, but the presence of the mask meant that the demon wasn't as cocky as he was during their first battle. Even doing this much damage was most likely a fluke.

A hand tightly grabbed his shoulder, and Roy came into view.

"We've only got a few seconds," he whispered quickly. "He's pissed at you and predictable right now. He's gonna charge you. I want you to duck on my signal."

Link nodded, hoping that whatever Roy had planned worked out.

"What's the matter?" Link taunted, holding his sword and shield out to his sides. "First you put on a stupid mask and now you run away from me! Seeing me resurrected must have really spooked you. I'm starting to think you're more scared of me than you are of Lucario."

The demon's head turned briskly in his direction, unleashing a scream as he dove for Link once again.

"Get down!" Roy yelled. Link jumped to the ground just in time to see a thick ball of flames pass over him and explode on Kneph. Tiny sparks of fire hit the ground and fizzled out; Kneph himself spun and cried as his body burned again.

"You have been a pest for far too long!" Kneph declared through the flames. He spun rapidly until he became a blur. The flames were replaced with a twister growing in size.

Link jammed the Master Sword into the ground, using it as an anchor. He latched on to Peach as she flew by in the gale. Roy tried a similar gesture, but debris from the ruins slammed into him, leaving him at the mercy of the twister. Kneph stopped spinning but used the power of the winds to draw Roy towards him. He revealed one of his swords and struck without hesitation. Roy hit the ground, leaving blood and a piece of his chest plate beside him.

Kneph was not satisfied, circling the fallen warrior. He drove both his swords into the ground, several feet apart in length with Roy at the center. Link charged, unsure of the demon's plan, but he knew he had to stop it. Unfortunately, he was forced to jump back when the swords brimmed to life after being struck with lightning bolts, creating an electrical dome. Roy screamed and convulsed under the power of the electrical currents.

The purple light of the dome filled the ruins. Kneph's focused attention easily revealed that he was pleased with this turn of events. He always did like to watch his victims die.

_I won't let him take another life as long as I'm here_, Link thought. He would see that through, even if that meant removing the swords himself to break the spell. He approached one with his hand outstretched and was suddenly pulled back by Marth.

"The swords are the conduit!" Marth warned, struggling to hold Link. "You will be electrocuted!"

"We just can't leave him to die!"

"Death is not always the end," Marth murmured. Link gave him a look of pure disbelief. Was he condoning this? How could Roy's friends just watch?

"But I won't allow this!" the prince finished. He leapt into the air and unleashed a flurry of slashes upon Kneph. Weaponless, the demon was forced to evade them all, but he wasn't having much difficulty.

Peach stepped next to Link. He was surprised to see her up and about so quickly. "Allow me," she said, tossing a turnip at one of the swords. The vegetable violent exploded on impact, and she was visibly upset. "How can we stop this?"

An aura sphere burrowed into the sword and exploded, sending it spinning through the air; the spell was broken and Roy was spared. The red-headed warrior disappeared in a blue blur. Link and Peach turned quickly as it passed by them. Roy was propped against a pillar with Lucario kneeling next to him.

"You are okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'll live," Roy sputtered.

"No!" Kneph hissed. He pointed a finger, sending a bolt of lightning zipping past Marth. Lucario erected a shield for a fraction of a second, deflecting the bolt and sending it into a wall.

The pokemon levitated until he was level with the demon. Aura laced his body as he growled, "this time I'm ready for you."

"I was starting to get worried," Kneph said, summoning a wind stream that drew his swords back into his grip. "Link is my target, but Father will be particularly pleased when I bring him your head."

Lucario was unfazed. "Consider this round two."

* * *

_**The battle is not yet over! Even with the support of the Brotherhood, Link has trouble with Kneph. Roy is down, but Lucario is back in the game. The demon and the pokemon seem to share a mutual hatred that eludes the others, but that will be overshadowed when Link's rage brings forth a potent power...**_


	13. CH 12: Facing the Winds of Death

_**The battle with Kneph rages on. Lucario may be a powerhouse, but Link has a hidden power that might greatly contribute to the fight...**_

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Facing the Winds of Death**

Marth backed away from the duo. No one blamed him; the opposing energies radiating from Lucario and Kneph were foretelling of an inevitable collision - an eruption of pure power that threatened to engulf anyone that got too close.

"I can understand your hesitation," Lucario spoke up, breaking some of the tension. "Assuming you survive this battle, Azazel won't be pleased about your failure. So either I can kill you or he does."

Kneph's hands twitched and he summoned another air blade by swinging his sword. Lucario made the minimum effort to avoid the shockwave, leaning just enough for it to narrowly miss him.

Lucario smirked. "You can do better than that."

Kneph brushed it off and began his own taunt. "You are quick to die, but if that's what you wa-"

Lucario's fist burrowed into Kneph's face. The mask took the brunt of the attack, but the power of Aura was potent enough that his entire body jolted with pain. It was an awkward sensation for Kneph, as his wraith form was immune to many attacks. Few could hurt him like this, but then again, he was always wary of Lucario.

He promptly retaliated, swinging both of his swords wildly. Lucario used his powers to create semi-shielding around his limbs to stave off strikes from the blades, then discharged that power with every punch and kick he landed.

Link watched in amazement. The speed of the fight was unmatched, and he was impressed with Lucario's boldness. If that were him fighting Kneph, he would have made a little more distance for caution. Lucario's approach exploited a weakness in Kneph's defenses: the demon was simply not accustomed to fighting opponents that were in his face. It didn't give him any time to summon his wind or lightning powers.

Lucario delivered a soccer kick that sent Kneph reeling back. He followed up with another kick that knocked one of the swords right out of Kneph's grasp. It fell to the ground and slid along the grass near the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Break it!" Lucario commanded.

"Break it?" Roy repeated, sitting against a pillar as Peach addressed his wounds. "How does he expect us to do that?"

"Anyway we can," Marth answered quickly. "Any single advantage we can get in this battle, we must take!"

"I'll do it," Link volunteered. He felt that he was physically stronger than Marth, though he didn't want to admit that aloud because he didn't want it to be taken the wrong way.

He used the Master Sword to strike the blade once, twice, three times. There was no progress.

"Come on, I know you've got the power," Link murmured to the sword. "You are way more powerful than Kneph's blood-stained blades."

He strapped the shield to his back and held the Master Sword in both hands. With one mighty thrust, he drove the Master Sword through the blade. It split and shattered to pieces with little fireworks or fanfare, though the destruction of the blade did elicit outrage from Kneph.

The demon increased the intensity of his attacks. Lucario blocked a slash by crossing his aura-laced arms, but the air shockwave drove him down and into the ground. Kneph followed up with a diving thrust. Lucario's form split into two separate images before fading on impact. He reappeared behind Kneph and kicked the demon back into the air.

"Enough of this," Kneph hissed sorely. He pointed his finger and launcher a lightning bolt from the tip. Lucario deflected it with a quick spherical barrier. Kneph turned his attention to Roy and Peach, opening his palm and releasing a much stronger bolt. Lucario moved in a blur, using his body to shield the two from the attack. He collapsed to the ground as electrical energy fizzled across his fur.

"I knew it!" Kneph shrieked triumphantly. "I knew you couldn't keep summoning the barrier without repercussions! Where is your precious Aura now?"

Lucario's view of the blue sky was blocked by the worried faces of his comrades.

"My body is only numb," he informed them. "Protect yourselves!"

"We have to protect you first," Peach murmured, rubbing his face.

"It's time for you to finally suffer the wrath of the demons you've incurred for _years,_" Kneph declared. He came for them with his trademark scream, but the flash of a blade stopped him. He reeled back and slid a finger along the deep cut in his mask. A few inches closer and he would have been done for.

Link wasted no time following up on his attack with a barrage of slashes. He didn't have the speed of Marth, the flames of Roy or the flashy Aura powers of Lucario, but he did have courage and the will to stop this demon. Kneph caught on to the intentions behind this new offensive, and managed to strike back with his free hand. Link jumped back and saw tatters from his tunic flutter away. The tips of Kneph's bony hands were more like claws and almost as sharp as his sword; the chain mail protected Link, but even that took damage.

Kneph grabbed Link's throat and slammed him against a pillar.

"Do you know what it's like to cleave a goron in two?" the demon breathed into Link's ear. "It feels _delectable_ to break a being's strongest quality."

He slapped the Master Sword out of Link's grip and cackled. "I'm going to do the same to you. You're not afraid to die. That would be commendable if you weren't a nuisance to Father or a pawn of that conniving Lucario.

"Keep your distance or I snap his neck!" the demon commanded. Marth took a step back. Kneph sensed him before he could make a move.

"You see," Kneph continued, his face uncomfortably close, "when I kill you, there's a possibility someone might awaken your soul again. This time I'm going to make sure there's nothing for you to come back to."

Link widened his eyes, much to Kneph's delight. The demon only indulged in random murders across the land; it was for that reason so many of his loved ones were still around. He knew Kneph was at his worst when focused on specific targets. With him out of the way, it would be impossible for Kneph's new targets to defend themselves.

"That quaint little village you call home? Consider it wiped out."

"You won't get the chance," Link growled.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm not dead yet!"

Kneph tightened his grip and moved his head back to admire Link's futility. "That princess you've taken a liking to...I will be sure to kill her nice and slowly. I wonder what will happen to the kingdom with the last royal dead. I won't have to wait long, I guess."

Link's blood boiled as he struggled, and then he was dropped to the ground. In the instant that he blinked, five needles impaled Kneph's mask. He would have thought he imagined it if he hadn't heard them strike so clearly. The demon screeched and held his mask, but the damage was done. It crumbled to pieces that fell into the grass, revealing the scar left by the Master Sword in the center of his already repugnant face.

Kneph drew his attention to the offender. Hiding in the foliage beyond the ruins was a man in a tight blue and white body suit. His face was covered and a ponytail ran down his back. The demon sent a lightning bolt his way, but the man disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Link was still engulfed in his rage from Kneph's audacious threats. He could clearly see the slaughtering of the Ordonians. Rusl, the children, even Ilia. None would be spared. And Zelda would not go down easily...the demon most likely had the power to storm the castle. All the people willing to give up their lives to protect the princess would just be appetizers.

A burst of energy coursed through Link's veins. It was a power he rarely summoned, but his anger, desire to save the innocent, and unwavering courage stimulated his hidden power.

Kneph watched Link grab the Master Sword and rise to his feet. A deep foreboding welled inside of him. Was he afraid? His pride wouldn't allow him to even consider the idea that he should fear the Hylian. He destroyed him once and he would do it again.

A golden light bore through Link's gauntlet. Three triangles radiated along the back of his left palm, with one Triforce beaming brighter than the others.

Kneph chuckled. "That didn't save you last time."

"I didn't do **this** last time," Link asserted with pure confidence. An aura swept over his body, emitting all the colors of the rainbow, and his eyes became bright with light.

He aimed his brand at Kneph. The golden light pierced the demon, trapping him between two rotating images of the completed Triforce.

"_What is this?_" the demon hissed frantically, his body unmoving. Link glided across the ground with the answer, boring into Kneph with a flurry of charged slashes. The demon's screams were drowned out by the clanging of the blade with each strike, booming throughout the ruins. The pain finally came to a halt as Link allowed Kneph to spin pathetically in his magical prison. He reared the Master Sword back for one final blow.

"Haaaaaa!"

The thrust broke the hold and shot Kneph into the air. The demon barely recovered, but his wraith-like body was more tattered and decayed than usual.

"W-what...that power!" Kneph stuttered. "Where did it come from!"

"When a soul is pushed to its edge, it burns more brightly than ever," Lucario said with much intentional pretension. "Not that you would know this. You are what you are."

"Father never spoke of this!" Kneph thought aloud, on the verge of a meltdown. His hands trembled beyond his control and he was losing more demon blood, but he did bring a scornful gaze upon Lucario. "This is far from over!"

Kneph began to retreat, soaring over the ruins.

Roy grinned and called out to the fleeing demon. "You're running away? Did that invitation for death _expire_?"

Marth was unsatisfied and nearly livid with Kneph's hasty exit. He clenched the Falchion and spoke, "If we follow him we should be able to finish him off!"

"No," Lucario commanded, struggling to get up. Link was drained after his attack, but still thought he was in better shape to help.

"Help Roy. I am fine," he said, pushing Link away.

Marth released a frustrated sigh. "I do not understand. We must take the opportunity to destroy the demons whenever it arises!"

"Do you think you can keep up with a being in flight by chasing him on foot? You'd need my power for that, wouldn't you?" Lucario looked Marth in the eyes but didn't get a response. "Kneph will go into hiding again, possibly within The Void. Do you think we could follow him there and hope to defeat him in our current condition?"

Marth closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but his anger remained. "It feels like a game. We are making little progress and yet a weakened demon slips between our fingers. Why?"

"It's temporary," Lucario assured him. "We aren't pursuing Kneph this second, but it doesn't mean that we won't before he recovers."

Marth gave a simple nod.

"I've gotta hand it to you, Link," Roy said as Link helped him to his feet. "You send your enemies out with style."

"Well I did have a little help from whoever that was earlier," Link admitted, though he did smile. He usually traveled alone, so very rarely did he gather such praises in battle.

"You didn't know that warrior?" Peach inquired.

"Nope. Never seen him in my life." Link had seen something interesting, though he didn't know how much his observations would mean to foreigners. The man was wearing the symbol of the Sheikah, but...they've been gone for ages. It couldn't have meant anything.

Link's mind wandered back to a decision he made during that fight and thought now was as good of a time as any to make his intentions known.

"I've decided...I want to join your Brotherhood."

* * *

_**You didn't think they'd kill Kneph so quickly, did you?**_

_**Link has finally decided to join the Brotherhood...but he's not an official member just yet! On top of that, he has yet to meet everyone on the team.**_

_**And was that...Sheik? Twilight Princess doesn't have a Sheik equivalent, so is this a mysterious new warrior, or did Zelda learn a few new tricks in Link's absence?**_

_**This was originally going to be another split POV chapter, but I felt the second half of this chapter stood alone well enough on its own, so expect another POV split in the next chapter.**_


	14. CH 13: True Blue

_**I said this would be a split POV chapter, but I changed my mind. I felt like this scene worked better alone.**_

_**We return to Centropolis, where Derwin meets someone he never expected...**_

* * *

**Chapter 13 – True Blue**

Derwin sat alone on the park bench under the dim light of a lamppost. A night breeze blew against him, but he was barely aware. He glanced at his watch; he had another ten minutes before the patrol bots swept this area again. He leaned forward hoping to get lost in his thoughts once more but a particularly strong gust hit him this time.

"Hey kid, you look down in the dumps."

Derwin sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was chat; it was why he went to the park in the dead of night in the first place. He slowly turned his head to see who was bothering him and blinked from the abrupt sight.

A blue hedgehog leaned against the post. His curved quills, white gloves, and red sneakers were an iconic image Derwin had seen many times on the TV screen. It was the mysterious vigilante faster than any man or machine in the city. His unknown origins and pure intentions kept him as a hot topic among the denizens. Many rumors and conspiracy theories surrounded him, including a popular suggestion that he was just a fictitious product of the government and news stations to boost the morale of the city.

For a hero that didn't exist, he seemed pretty real to Derwin.

"You...you're that Sonic guy!"

"I'm that Sonic guy," the hedgehog confirmed with a nod. "Sonic the Hedgehog's the name!"

The raccoon's jaw was agape. Hearing Sonic talk was even more surreal. He had to shake himself from his stupor to reply.

"I-I'm Derwin!"

"Derwin, eh? You look like you've hit rock bottom…it's pretty late; you shouldn't be out here alone. What's wrong?"

Derwin gasped and covered his mouth, eliciting a raised brow from the hedgehog. Sonic was a hero that saved lives and foiled criminals. Would he really care about some petty family drama? But he had been obviously upset when Sonic showed up, and it would be silly to hide it from him...

He took a deep breath and decided to tell Sonic the problem. What was supposed to be a snippet turned into him blabbing the whole situation.

"My friend Link went far away on an important mission…me and my friend Freddy told his parents about it but they didn't believe us. My dad didn't believe me either and then he...he started making fun of my weight." Derwin blushed and thanked the dim lights of the park for helping hide that fact under his fur.

"Ah," Sonic murmured contemplatively, leaning against the bench, "So you ran away."

"Yeah..."

There was a short silence that left Derwin uncomfortable. He squirmed at the thought of Sonic judging him for that.

"So what exactly is the problem?"

He gave Sonic an incredulous stare.

"I already told you what the problem is! My dad didn't believe me and then insulted me."

Sonic hopped onto the bench and sat next to Derwin. "Look kid, someone taught me a long time ago that sometimes you need to slow down and look under the surface. To do that, you need…patience."

His gaze was distant, reminiscing of another time and place.

"He's your dad. Obviously he loves you. Sometimes people say or do things they don't really mean because they don't really know how to express themselves. When your dad started making fun of your weight, he was telling you something else."

"So...the real problem is that...my dad wasn't sure how to express himself?"

Sonic nodded.

"I guess running away didn't really help..."

"You've got that right! In the middle of night, you can run into all kinds of freaks – like me!" Sonic exclaimed, pointing a thumb at himself.

Derwin shook his head. "No! You're not a freak! You're cool."

"Yeah, but what if I _was_ a bad guy? What started as a fight with your dad would end in a tragedy."

"Okay, okay! I get the point. I'll go home soon."

"Good...but about your friend. You got any evidence about him leaving? That should get people off your back."

"That's what we tried to find, but Link pretty much left Centropolis without a trace! I watched him leave."

"What do you mean?"

"He left with a pokemon called Lucario. Took him to world named Hyrule."

Sonic's brows furrowed with a strange interest. "Lucario? What did he look like?"

"He looks like a jackal. Blue, spikes on his chest and hands...doesn't wear any clothes. He kinda reminds me of you, actually. But he's a bit of a jerk..."

Derwin leaned away from Sonic without realizing it – that interest on the hedgehog's face quickly morphed into anger. It may have been more accurate to describe him as pissed off. Did he not like the comparison with Lucario?

Just as Derwin was about to apologize, Sonic grinned.

"Sounds like a weird guy. I can see why people won't believe ya."

Derwin sighed in relief, but before he could respond, someone called his name out in the darkness. He looked over his shoulder and saw several figures making their way through the park with flashlights. He immediately recognized the short red hair of Freddy passing under the orb of a lamppost, and trailing behind him were his parents and a few humans.

"Your family came looking for you," Sonic said, jumping off of the bench, "guess there won't be a tragedy tonight! And that's my cue to split!"

"No, Sonic! Wait!"

"Sorry Derwin, can't stay in one place for too long!" Sonic jogged in place and winked. "I'll tell you what, though. If you run into that Lucario guy again, give me a shout. Until then, I'll look into it! See ya!"

Sonic disappeared in a speedy blur, covering the span of the park in seconds. A burst of wind whipped against Derwin, throwing his bushy tail into his face. He brushed it away and stared at where Sonic had been for what felt like hours.

"But how am I supposed to contact you...?"

What an unpredictable day it turned out to be.

"Hey, Derwin!" Freddy waved a hand in his face, snapping him out of his trance. He wasn't sure how long he was out of it. "Did you turn into a popsicle out here or something?"

"Oh, hi Freddy," Derwin murmured.

"'Hi?' That's it?" Freddy replied skeptically. "Dude, why didn't you just come to my house?"

"That's the first place my parents would look."

"True, but I wouldn't snitch."

"Your sister would."

"I have ways to deal with Ruby," Freddy said with a smirk.

Derwin jumped up enthusiastically. "Look, forget about that! He was just here!"

"Who?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" Derwin screamed, shaking Freddy violently. "I know he's fast, but didn't you see him?"

"Sonic...the vigilante? You sure about that?"

Derwin tightened his grip and scowled. "I had a lot of people tell me today that I'm lying and it's pissing me off!"

"Hey, chill," Freddy said, backing away. "If you saw him, you saw him. Might not wanna to tell anyone else yet though. We're still in the middle of all this Link BS."

"That's right..." Derwin turned his gaze to the ground when his parents caught up, but Tia gently grabbed his face and forced his eyes to interlock with hers.

"Don't you ever run away like that again! You should never feel like you need to run away from us, even when we get out of line. Do you hear me?"

He nodded and embraced his mother and saw the Jensens over her shoulder. Did they come hoping to hear something they'd like, or were they here because they really cared?

But more important was his father, who now stood before him.

No more running away. Derwin heeded Sonic's advice.

"Dad..."

"I'm sorry Derwin," Neal intervened, his tone devoid of all anger and sternness. "I'm only worried about your health and lost my cool. I should have told you that instead of keeping it bottled up for so long."

"Well...I guess it's okay," Derwin murmured, hugging his father. "Do you still think I'm lying?"

"I..." Neal trailed off, but saw the deep conviction within his son's eyes, a trait he picked up from his mother. The dark fur around those glistening pools only accentuated it. "I believe you, son."

It was the words Derwin wanted to hear, though he wasn't sure if they were entirely genuine. At the very least, it meant the friction was gone in his household.

"But I want to hear the story again."

Derwin looked up, confounded. "You already know it."

"No, I know what I was told by Albert. I want to hear it from you boys, since you were actually there. Every detail."

Derwin feared how the Jensens would react. They were already critical of the story the first time around, would they even let him tell it a second time? His father's firm grip around his shoulder was reassuring.

_It really happened but it's on them whether they believe it or not, _he thought with a sigh, and began to recount how the beginning of such a normal day was instantly turned on its head.

* * *

_**The next chapter will be another single POV chapter. I'm 95% sure that I'm not changing my mind on that. It will return to Hyrule.**_

_**Will Link be admitted into the Brotherhood, or will something go horribly, horribly wrong?**_


	15. CH 14: Initiation

**Chapter 14 – Initiation**

Link stood on the ridge of the tree that he had made his home so many years ago. The spot became a makeshift deck and he, as he did many times before, used it as the perfect place to watch the amber sunset wash over Ordon in the distance.

The door behind him opened, followed by heavy footsteps. He glanced to his side to see Roy in much better shape despite the remaining bandages where Kneph had struck him.

"Feeling better?"

Roy raised his arms into the air for a stretch. "Much, after I got my hands on a Maxim Tomato."

Link didn't question it; he had no idea what a Maxim Tomato was, but apparently it was pretty powerful. Secrets of the Brotherhood he'd learn once he was in, hopefully. His mind wandered to the previous battle and how Roy fared. He hadn't admitted it yet, but he found Roy's fire blade attacks to be impressive and wondered about his own potential.

"You're an Elementalist?" he finally asked.

Roy looked surprised, and a little flattered. "Me? No, not officially."

"Really? You're so skilled with flame techniques."

"Well, you've got to learn the skill before you can master it, right?"

Link nodded, but Roy folded his arms, annoyed with a new hunch.

"Wait a minute, just how much did Lucario tell you about the elements?"

"Just that there were nine elements, when I thought there were six at the most, and that everyone has an element," Link said, feeling out of the loop. "We were sort of in a hurry."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Oh, it figures he'd have me do his dirty work. Alright, I'll tell you the basics.

"Reality and life as we know it is formed from the nine elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Nature, Thunder, Darkness, Light and Spirit. Everyone's soul is bonded to at least one of these elements upon creation. When you learn how to use your element and become a master with those abilities, you're a Geomancer."

"Wait, Geomancer?"

"Geomancer, Elementalist. Same thing." Roy shrugged. "Whichever title is preferred depends on where you are. See, my element is fire, so that would eventually make me a Pyromancer or a Fire Elementalist. Since your element is Nature, you'll become a Forestmancer, or Nature Elementalist."

Link tried to imagine people wielding the other elements, including those in the Brotherhood. Marth and Peach didn't display any overt elemental powers, so he could only guess what their elements were. In direct contrast, there was rarely a moment when Lucario wasn't tapping into his power.

"What's Lucario's element? I've heard him tossing 'Aura' around."

"Oh, his element is spirit. Aura is his style, a sort of subset of an element's potential you can carve out for yourself. It's like how I mostly incorporate flames into my swordplay, a style called Pyrokenjutsu. Anyone with a sword and the fire element can pull off Pyroken if they learn it. I'm not that familiar with the nature element, but you can practice a style or dabble in all sorts of aspects of your element's power as you see fit, if you want to."

Link sighed. "Spirit seems like a really powerful element."

"Well, people with the spirit element are really rare. Rarer than duos like Ike."

"Ike...?"

"Oh yeah, you didn't meet him yet. He's part of the Brotherhood too. Duomancers or Fusion Elementalists have two elements bonded to their souls. Ike's got fire and earth." Roy frowned. "He thinks he's so special, but he could easily be considered a freak of nature for that."

Roy's disapproving words surprised Link. Was Ike a bad guy, or was Roy jealous?

The redheaded swordsman saw Link's reaction and began to explain himself. "I've known Ike for a while; you'll see what I mean whenever you meet him. He's like a teacher's pet – a mini-Lucario in personality. Like we really needed two."

"Lucario doesn't seem that bad to me," Link admitted. "He might seem a little cold at first but he's got some good intentions."

"Yeah, yeah. His blunt nature and abrasive attitude can get annoying after a while, you know? To tell you the truth, you're a breath of fresh air."

"Really? I'm just a k.." Link was going to say 'kid,' briefly forgetting that he wasn't just Link Jensen anymore.

"The Brotherhood...we've been the Brotherhood for a long time. Lucario practices being an ass, Ike pretends to be Lucario, Marth tries his damndest to keep any high emotions subdued, and Peach is...Peach. It can make a guy lose his mind."

Roy suddenly grinned mischievously.

"But I've found ways to cope, like with Lucario. If you really want to get under his skin, call him Luc. He'd never admit it but it drives him crazy."

Link smiled at the absurdity. "Seems like a small thing to get upset over."

"You just have to watch him closely when it's said. You'll see. It's great. The best part is that Peach started using it after she heard me say it, thinking it was a legitimate nickname. Lucario won't tell her that he hates it because he doesn't want to offend her, so he just takes it."

Hearing little tales like that made Link feel like part of the team already. Hopefully, it wouldn't be much longer until he was officially part of the Brotherhood, and just thinking about how he got to this point was exasperating. Looking at Roy, he began to wonder how he also got pulled into the war with the demons and joined the Brotherhood.

"I don't want to pry too much but...why did you join the Brotherhood?"

Roy suddenly went rigid and turned his head away a bit. Link instantly regretted asking him, but Roy started to speak.

"You can say that I didn't have a choice. Or rather, I wouldn't allow myself to have a choice."

Link was silent, and Roy continued.

"Link, my world is a little different from yours. It's considered an 'outer world,' it's not part of a connected system like Centropolis and the seven worlds surrounding it. Mine is just a little further out there in The Void, pretty much by itself...I guess that made it a perfect target. The demons attacked and then Azazel took it all. Everyone and everything was consumed...except for me, Marth and Ike. Lucario saved us. He made it pretty clear what was happening and what we needed to do, so I guess you can say we were the founding members of the Brotherhood."

"...I had no idea, Roy."

"Yeah, never mistake my lax moods for apathy. As much as Lucario nags, I do know how serious the situation is, because I'm one of its victims."

Link wasn't sure what to say. There were no words he could use to make the situation better, and he felt a little guilty in how long it took him to come around to the Brotherhood when people had already lost everything to Azazel's conquest. Before the situation could get awkward, Lucario rounded the corner of the trail with Zelda at his side. Link was surprised to see the princess here, and pondered how she managed to wrestle away from the Royal Knights.

"Link!" Zelda called out. "Lucario has told me the news of Kneph's defeat and your acceptance of their Brotherhood."

He had no intention of keeping any of that a secret from her. He helped the princess when she reached the top of the ladder. Looking into her joyful face, he solemnly told her, "Kneph's beaten, but he's not dead."

"Still, as a team, you managed to drive the demon back. No one else in Hyrule has accomplished that. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the celebration, for I must return to the castle before nightfall."

"What celebration?"

Zelda looked just as confused as Link. "The Ordonians are having a feast in honor of your return and triumph over Kneph. You did not know?"

"That would be my fault," Roy said, bowing to the princess. "I'm elated to finally meet you, princess." He gently took her gloved hand and kissed it.

Link frowned without realizing it. He thought the gesture was a little excessive. "What's the big idea? Was this supposed to be a surprise party?"

"Nah, I just told everyone what happened when we got back. It was their idea to have the feast."

"You can chitchat later," Lucario uttered suddenly, clearly annoyed. "We have an initiation to complete." He walked past them and entered Link's home while Roy gave a despondent shrug.

The conversation between Marth and Peach abruptly ended once they saw everyone step inside. Link's house was never big, so just the six of them felt like a crowd. The royals were fixated on Zelda, not only because this was their first meeting, but because they were baffled by her presence. But if Lucario allowed it, it didn't need to be questioned.

"Princess Zelda, this is Prince Marth and Princess Peach. Further introductions will have to wait."

Link wasn't worried about the actual initiation, but no one had given him details on the event. "What am I supposed to do?"

"It's quite simple," Marth said. "You must accept the oath."

Link realized that he was surrounded by the Brotherhood, while Zelda stood against a wall in silence. Was this part of the ritual?

Lucario stepped forward to speak.

"As a member of the Brotherhood, you will protect the universe from Azazel and all that entails. From this point on, all of your blood, sweat and efforts will be to save the innocents from the potential fate Azazel has planned for them. With our team, you will form an unbreakable bond, beyond the comprehension of the soulless ones that inhabit The Void, and one trustworthy of your very life. Do you swear to this? Failure to commit one hundred percent will most likely result in the loss of everything precious in the world."

"Yes, I swear," Link replied with a nod. "Is...is this it?"

Lucario touched Link's upper arm lightly. A jolt of energy passed through Link, tingling his insides before moving to the back of his right hand. What started as a small itch erupted into a searing pain like flames against his skin. By the time he removed his glove, the pain was gone, and a distinct mark was left in its place: a circle with a thick vertical line crossing through a thin horizontal line, meeting off-center. Link was mesmerized by the simplistic but striking brand.

"Welcome to the Smash Brotherhood."

* * *

_**Yes, every member of the Brotherhood has the brand somewhere on their body, except for Lucario since he can't brand himself.**_

_**Now that Link is officially a part of the Brotherhood, there's nothing stopping them from acting as a team one hundred percent and taking down Azazel and his demons. But there are still things for Link to learn before that point.**_

_**Expect three (!) point of views next chapter: Hyrule, Centropolis, and...I wonder who the third could be!**_


	16. CH 15: A Moment of Respite

_**This chapter took longer than expected due to minor writer's block and dealing with a few other things, but everything should be back on track. On the bright side, this is one of the longer chapters so far.**_

_**Things continue to wind down after the most recent defeat of Kneph...or maybe...they're winding up? Link will have to make a difficult choice about his future.**_

* * *

**Chapter 15 – A Moment of Respite**

Haunting wails filled the skies over Death Mountain, breaking the serenity of the sunset. A black, ragged cloak billowed through the wind on a course for the upper end of the mountain.

Sitting with his legs dangling over a cliff was a child in green overalls, his sight trained on the phenomenon.

The Hylian child watched the entity hit the mountain wall behind him and take on the battered form of Kneph. The demon breathed heavily – he didn't actually need air, but the gesture was a testament to his anger and frustration. His eyeless sockets quickly turned onto the boy.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kneph screeched indignantly.

A grin far more wicked than any child should know drew across the boy's lips. "Link is back and you've failed to defeat them. Again."

"And this amuses you?"

"Father will not be pleased," the boy responded. "Well, he was already displeased with you, so I wonder if this will be your curtain call."

"Such condescending speech from one whose deceptive ways have accomplished little!" Kneph hissed suddenly, closing the distance between the two so that his rancid breath was upon the boy.

"Hypocrite. You were assigned to Hyrule with one task: destroy those that possessed Champion Souls. In all the years of indiscriminate rampages, you've only killed Link, so it's pretty obvious that you don't know where to search. And to top it off, he's back. You've been sent back to square one! At this rate, their numbers will swell."

"You speak as if this doesn't affect you!"

The child leaned back, propping himself up with both hands against the hard ground. "At the moment, it doesn't. My task isn't to kill them."

"They are still a threat."

"Which is entirely your fault," the boy replied with a chuckle. "I always knew your reckless and barbaric ways would catch up to you eventually. Bravo."

Kneph's fuse had already been shortened by his humiliating defeat. A threatening gust of wind surged from the demon. "I'm older than you, Mardek!" he declared, infuriated.

Mardek responded in tandem, unleashing a swampy black aura that blocked the wind like a wall. "Is that supposed to excuse your incompetence?" the boy murmured with nonchalance.

A tense silence ensued, letting the pulsating powers of the two evil entities speak for themselves as they threatened to consume one another. In an instant, Mardek's power receded, and Kneph slowly scaled back his winds in response.

"You know, word of your failure will reach Father eventually, even if I have to bring it to him myself," Mardek admitted more solemnly. "But I'd really hate to lose another brother because of them, and I don't see any way for you to get out of this...besides actually succeeding in your mission."

"I have no intention of failing," Kneph replied stoically.

"But you know this is most likely your final act if Father has any say."

"...I'll summon the Tempest when I'm able."

"You fool; you'll be more vulnerable than ever!" Mardek warned, but it was too late. Kneph already took off towards the top of the mountain.

The wraith hovered above Death Mountain and clasped his bony hands together, entering a trance.

Mardek stood up and rolled his eyes. "I guess either side could win," he murmured, starting back down the trail of the mountain. "And regardless of which side does, the show must go on..."

* * *

Neal slowly shut the door to his son's room and leaned his back against the adjacent wall. The hallway was dimly lit by the light orb from the living room, but he could still see the figure of his wife exiting their own bedroom.

"Is he finally asleep?" Tia asked.

Neal slowly nodded.

Tia narrowed her eyes and fixated them on Neal's face. He knew she was trying to read his expression and it annoyed him a bit.

"What?"

"Do you believe everything he said?"

Was this a trap for an argument? He already got lectured once today.

"Do _you_ believe everything he said?" he retorted.

"I asked you first."

Neal sighed and closed his eyes. "I believe he believes that everything he said happened."

"That's a copout," Tia said with a smirk.

"Not really. You heard him describe it all. He was downright adamant. So either he's lost his mind or it really happened. He seems perfectly fine to me."

"Is this your way of admitting it might have happened?"

"What's with the skeptic smirk? You're always telling me to be more open."

"I meant personality-wise...but being open-minded isn't a bad thing either."

Neal led his wife out of the darkened confines of the hallways and into the living room, sitting on the posh couch. The seat was never to his liking, but after all, he wasn't the one that bought it.

"Well, there's a lot we don't really understand about our universe, and I'm pretty sure some of that is because certain people in power don't think we should know," Neal said, his gaze on the empty TV screen. "So let's look at Derwin's story and set aside all our disbelief, and assume for just a moment that everything he said was the absolute, unadulterated truth."

Tia smiled excitedly. "You're starting to sound like me now. Okay, so now what?"

"Link went to another world with a mysterious pokemon and his parents are absolutely distraught. What would you do about it?"

"I'd get proof but there isn't any."

"None that the boys knew of. This Lucario guy sounds like he comes and goes as he pleases. I don't think it's the first time he's made a trip to Centropolis. Someone has to know something about this. Maybe a specialist that studies things like that..."

"Wait...you're not talking about..."

"Yep."

"But I thought he was just joking about working in the 5th Department."

"That's what he wanted you to think." Neal fished his cellphone from his pocket. "It's late but he's usually up all night. I'm going to call him and see if he can help us."

* * *

Link leaned against the wall of a house, watching the spirited Ordonians surrounding the bonfire; some danced while others held the first casual conversations in ages. The celebration was thrown in Link's honor, and the food was already devoured, but Link eventually found himself observing his fellow Ordonians.

There was a sense of community he didn't realize he missed. Centropolis was such a gargantuan city; you made a couple of friends and you kept them close. But in Ordon, everyone knew each other. It was an extended family and the village thrived on that connection. Despite the changes in his absence, Link still felt that familiarity. Everyone welcomed him back with open arms. Well, almost everyone...

Ilia's face was brightly lit by the flames as she held a conversation with Roy. Link sighed thinking about their 'reunion.' He knew the girl was impetuous, and he could only imagine how his death ravaged her, but he was hoping for a more friendly response. It made him wonder the point in reviving his old life if those he cared about the most rejected him for it.

Those thoughts instantly vanished when the girl looked at him over her shoulder and smiled. She started heading his way and he began to fret; what would he say? His view was suddenly blocked by Peach.

"Hellooooo!" she said cheerily, holding on to her white parasol.

"Oh...hi princess," Link murmured.

"Princess? We are a team now, you should call me Peach," she said with a wink.

"Okay, Peach."

"I've heard about your deeds in the past here in Hyrule. You are so revered and loved by everyone; I just had to wonder how you are readjusting to this life."

Link was almost taken aback. Roy made Peach out to be a flake, but she was the first one to ask him how he felt about all of this.

"To tell you the truth, there hasn't been any time to do any readjusting," he admitted. "Today's been so crazy...I woke up this morning to get ready for school, now I'm being celebrated for fending off a demon."

Link let out a short yawn as the long day wore down on him. He realized that Hyrule and Centropolis were on two different time axes. When he left the city, it was mid-afternoon, but still morning in Hyrule. If he were in his apartment, he'd be asleep by now.

"Maybe this is a little sudden and premature for me to ask, but what are you going to do when it's over?"

"I want to go back to Centropolis and let my parents know what's going on. They're completely in the dark. Then I guess we get prepared to take down Azazel."

"Oh, no. I mean, when the war is won. You've got two lives to live now, have you made any decisions?"

Link froze. It never occurred to him. Awakening created such a massive fork in his future that he wasn't sure why he never pondered it in the slightest. There was Link from Ordon and Link from Volesdale, now one entity. He couldn't live both lives at once. It was simply impossible – and maybe a little selfish to even entertain the notion.

And yet, how could he not? Hyrule's hero was cut down before his time while trying to protect the people of the land. It was unfair for someone with such a bright future to lose it like that, and he had already started reconnecting with everyone. Could he leave them again so suddenly?

But Link Jensen was a teenager still in the beginning stages of his life. He had parents that were raising him and were waiting on his return, and friends he was still in the process of growing up with. He was essentially still a child with so much to live for.

"I don't know..." Link whispered.

Peach backed off. "I...I'm sorry. I can't imagine the turmoil you must be going through. I can be so dense sometimes..."

"No, it's okay. I should have thought about this way before you brought it up."

The saddened look upon the princess's face displayed just how regretful she was.

"Link?" Ilia murmured as she approached. His pained expression concerned her.

"I...I'll talk to you later," Peach said, making herself scarce.

"What did she say to you?" Ilia cautiously inquired.

"It's nothing you need to worry about right now," Link replied, finding himself still trying to instinctively protect her.

Ilia didn't like that reply but chose not to dwell on it. "I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier."

"It's understandable."

"No! After what you've been through, my reaction was unacceptable." She found it hard to keep eye contact with him. "I don't know what came over me."

"Then let's put that behind us."

"You're right. Let's start over and pretend that this is our first reunion."

It was a silly suggestion, but Link played along. He cleared his throat and said, "Hi, Ilia."

Link nearly lost his balance when Ilia dove in and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you, Link," she whispered. She broke away and said, "You have to tell me everything you've been through."

"You too," Link responded. "The village looks the way it was the last time I was here, but everyone seems a little...different."

"Then we'll officially catch up...but, let's do that tomorrow. It's late and I know you've had a busy day."

Link watched Ilia walk to her home. He leaned against the wall with a smile. For once, it seemed that all was right in the world. Or at least that was true for Hyrule. He wondered about his parents back in Centropolis and how they were taking the news of his departure, if they even accepted what his friends told them. He wouldn't sleep easy tonight thinking about their lack of sleep.

He spotted Lucario away from the festivities and it gave him an idea.

"Lucario!"

The pokemon only marginally acknowledged Link with a glance when he approached. Link had a quick urge to ask him about his anti-social behavior but went with his original question.

"Maybe tomorrow morning we can go back to Centropolis for an hour or two so I can tell my friends and parents what's going on?"

"No."

Link frowned. Lucario didn't even take a second to think about it. "Why not?"

"What if Kneph strikes while we are away?"

"We messed him up pretty good. Would he come back so soon?"

Lucario let out a cynical chuckle and said, "Demons have pride issues. He may be more desperate than ever at this point."

"Yeah, but the rest of us can hold down the fort," Roy interjected, suddenly appearing behind them. He received a glare from Lucario for his efforts.

"You should know better than to underestimate them. It's possible one of the other demons could step in for Kneph."

Morbid curiosity struck Link. "Wait, just how many demons are we talking about?"

Roy and Lucario traded glances. Link didn't like that at all.

"Ten of varying power," Roy murmured. "Some of them dwarf Kneph."

"You've got to be joking!"

"**Nine**," Lucario clarified, "I already took care of one."

"But nine is still more than I expected," Link thought aloud. "You guys could have told me that before I signed up for this."

"Are you backing out?"

"No, of course not! But I don't think that detail needed to be hidden."

"It was never hidden. You simply never asked, so I felt no urgency in relaying that information."

Lucario abruptly walked off, away from the light of the bonfire and into the darkest regions of the village. Link had no idea where he was going and pondered if some part of their conversation offended him. It was also possible that he simply wanted to be alone, and pestering him about going back to Centropolis didn't help.

"I really don't get him," Link finally said.

"I've known him for years and even I don't get him!" Roy admitted, amused by the prospect. "But don't worry too much about the demons. They're spread out across the worlds so it's not like we're going to get attacked by all nine of them at once. If we take out Azazel we may not even have to worry about them."

"Wouldn't killing their 'father' just make them angrier?"

"The way Lucario explained it, the demons were spawned from Azazel's body and are kinda like detached, independent limbs that still have a connection to their host. Any severe injuries they receive, Azazel can feel to some extent."

Those words instilled a strange new hope within Link. In some way, Azazel had already felt the sting of the Master Sword. It brought vulnerability to an impervious force he had heard only by name.

"If we destroy Azazel, then the demons die with him. But that's just a theory," Roy noted quickly, not wanting to get Link's hopes up too high. "At the very least, they'll be less dangerous without someone to organize and command their assaults. They'll have no purpose."

"I don't know. It feels like Kneph has a vendetta against me."

"Hopefully we take him out before we get to Azazel." Roy turned around and began walking back towards the bonfire before saying, "This is your first night as a Smash Brother, so I'm going to give you some advice: sleep light. You never know when training will begin..."

"Training? What kind of training?" Link questioned, but Roy had already left.

* * *

_**I can say that we are beyond the halfway point of the story. From here on out we should be getting into the final stretches. What exactly is Kneph summoning? Who is Neal contacting? And what training is Roy alluding to? A climax is approaching!**_


	17. CH 16: Training by Moonlight

_**It's time for Link to learn some elemental powers. Of course, Nature encompasses different things depending on who you talk to...**_

_**This chapter can be seen as a two-parter of sorts, so consider this the first half.**_

* * *

Chapter 16 – Training by Moonlight

Link rolled restlessly in his bed. It was as comfortable as ever, so that wasn't the problem. His body was tired, but his brain wouldn't turn off. The previous events of the night wouldn't let him sleep.

"_Why is everyone here?" he couldn't help but ask when he noticed most of the Brotherhood gathered in his home once again._

"_We need a place to sleep, don't we?"_

"_You're all staying here? Where is your base of operations?"_

"_Wherever we need it to be," Marth said._

"_You guys don't have a headquarters? Like, a secret base or mansion somewhere?"_

"_Mansion? Don't be absurd," Lucario growled. It seemed that the idea offended him. "Why would we all live in a mansion?"_

"_Convenience?"_

"_Living in a mansion makes absolutely no sense. Not only do our numbers not require it, it is tactical suicide. The demons could easily level a mansion with all of us inside. It's a large and obvious target."_

"_That makes sense...but my home isn't very big. I can make room but...even the princess is staying here?"_

"_She doesn't have to if you don't want her to," Roy said, patting Link's shoulder._

"_I'm not trying to kick her out..."_

"_I'm just messing with you. Your friend Ilia offered Peach the night at her place."_

_Ilia? What was she up to?_

"_Do not trouble yourself with us," Marth told him. "We will find a way to make ourselves comfortable."_

"_Yeah, it's just for tonight. Pretend that we're not even here!"_

_Link gave Roy an incredulous scowl as he didn't see how that was possible._

That scowl remained on Link's face as he stared at the ceiling. At least the soft light of the moon flowing through the window served to soothe him.

"Link, suit up," Lucario's voice suddenly entered his head, slightly more lax than usual. "It is time for training."

"What training?" Link whispered.

"Your elementalist training."

* * *

Link met Lucario outside of his home. He couldn't believe that he actually dragged himself out of bed, but the prospect of learning his elemental powers gave him just enough drive.

The moonlight bestowed the area with tranquility and enhanced the deep calm exuding from Lucario. Link almost felt like he was intruding – and it was his front yard!

"Link, let us waste no time," Lucario murmured. "Your continuing inexperience with your potential powers is only an advantage for the demons."

"Roy already told me the basics about the nine elements."

Mild shock registered on Lucario's face, "He made himself useful for once. Then let us move on to lesson two: carving a niche for yourself. Have you decided on one?"

Link gave a sheepish grin as he admitted, "No, I'm not really all that familiar with the potential of the Nature element. I mean, besides getting trees to attack Kneph, but I don't know how effective that would be."

"What an ignorant approach."

Link furrowed his brows. "Hey, wait a minute. I just learned all of this stuff today so give me a break!"

"I'm not here to chastise you, Link," Lucario responded to the Hylian's anger. "I want you to think about Nature's relation to life and the other elements. If you made a chart representing the elements, where would you place Nature?"

"Hm...well there are some bits and pieces of the other elements in Nature...I guess I'd place it somewhere in the middle?"

"Precisely!" Lucario said excitedly. "Nature represents balance with the other elements. There isn't much to life without Nature. Besides manipulating Nature itself, nature elementalists are also able to communicate with plants and animals and summon familiars."

Old memories sprung to life for Link. When he was a wolf, he was easily able to hold conversations with the animals he came across – even Epona. Regaining that ability without having to transform opened a lot of doors, but didn't seem practical for a battle.

"Since you haven't decided on a style or niche for yourself, I'll pick one for you and we can work from there."

_I hope it's not anything goofy_, Link thought. He wouldn't put it past Lucario to teach him a stupid or embarrassing power as punishment for his earlier 'ignorant approach.'

"Nature's balance with the other elements can be manifested physically. Forestmancers have the ability to generate magical barriers that can cancel out overt instances of other elements."

Lucario planted both of his feet firmly into the ground and lifted his paws into a fighting stance. His tail went rigid and a minute amount of aura power burned along his paws.

"Let us begin sparring!" he stated with some enthusiasm.

Link was taken aback, but slowly unsheathed the Master Sword and nabbed his shield from his back. "I saw how you fought Kneph. I'm no match."

"You underestimate yourself," Lucario told him, but still saw the apprehension on Link's face. "You have nothing to worry about. I have no intention of annihilating you; I will only use enough force to incapacitate you."

Link rolled his eyes and said, "That makes me feel a lot be-"

Lucario interrupted him with a diving punch. Link jumped back, but the aura from Lucario's fist extended far enough to slam against Hylian Shield before he fully escaped.

"Stop talking," Lucario warned him in a harsh burst. "Your opponent won't give you the opportunity to finish sarcastic remarks!"

Link grinned at the thrill of battle. "If that's how you want it!"

Lucario took that as confirmation of a challenge and threw a small, uncharged aura sphere Link's way.

"Block it!" he barked, watching Link brace his shield for impact.

The aura sphere zigzagged through the air before colliding with Link's shield and erupting in a blast of energy that fully engulfed it. The aura energy dispersed before it could reach Link over the shield.

Though some of that power resembled blue and violet fire, Link didn't feel the heat of flames. This was a different energy, still lethal, and one that he was coming to understand to associate with the spirit element.

"Your shield is well forged, but it is still just a shield; a man-made object with many flaws," Lucario said, holding his arms back. Another aura sphere sparked to life in his grasp. "You can't always rely on just that shield. How would it serve you when under fire by an even stronger aura sphere?"

Link knew what he was inferring. "But I'm still not sure how to summon my power!"

"Your element is bonded to your soul. It is a part of you. Find your inner power. Discover the tranquility of nature and use that to fight my power!"

Lucario hurled the aura sphere before Link could protest, but the Hylian felt a heightened sense of awareness that resulted in his perception of time slowing down. As the sphere inched closer, he felt a familiar energy coming from it – the same sensation when an aura sphere narrowly missed him in pursuit of Kneph.

The nucleus of the sphere was the raw power of Aura, a form of the Spirit element, power gathered by Lucario's soul. Passion and an iron clad will cemented the sphere together. Why was he aware of such feelings from what, by all means, was an inanimate object?

Link came to understand as the feeling of a greater power emanated from within. His entire being was wrapped in an inviting, all-knowing calm. Was this the power of Nature?

It removed his worries of Lucario's powers. It was a barrier he wanted? He was going to get one.

Link readied his shield, summoning that calm to protect him. He prepared for impact but never felt the sphere hit his shield. In fact, there were no remaining traces of the sphere at all!

He checked the Hylian Shield and found a transparent green barrier attached to its shape.

"You learned that faster than I anticipated!" Lucario admitted excitedly. "That barrier cancels out energy opposed to you, so you don't have to worry about deflection or pushback. It's a great technique to defend yourself and your teammates with. That is, if you can master it!"

Lucario leapt into the sky directly over Link and produced another aura sphere. The power behind it dwarfed the first two.

"Extend the barrier to completely protect your body or else you will leave yourself exposed!" Lucario called over the roar of the sphere in his arms before sending it hurtling downward.

Link firmly planted his boots into the dirt and aimed his shield, and the barrier by extension, upward. He concentrated on summoning that calm to help him once again, and the barrier extended into a dome that covered his body just in time to thwart the aura sphere.

But this time was different. He definitely felt the sphere hit the barrier even if it did disappear on impact. There was also a quick flash of light that encompassed the barrier for that short moment. His heart sank a bit at the thought of his newfound power becoming outclassed so soon.

Lucario dropped to the ground and began attacking the barrier directly, punching and kicking it with aura powering his every strike. Link realized that he was being tested, but before he could react, the barrier shattered like glass. The magical shards disappeared in a glittering dust, but that did nothing to halt Lucario's assault. He followed up with a straight punch to Link's chest that sent the Hylian onto his back and sliding across the ground.

"It seems that I got carried away," Lucario conceded, helping Link back to his feet.

Link dusted himself off and said, "I guess it's partly my fault for being inexperienced with these powers."

"Your barrier withstood charged aura spheres and a direct assault for several seconds. I would consider it _decent_."

"A compliment?"

"Don't let it go to your head."

"I'd have to be pretty desperate to let **that** go to my head."

"Either way, I'd say we are done here for tonight."

Link let out a sigh of relief; maybe he could get some sleep this time. But looking at Lucario reminded him that he had some unanswered questions, and there was no reason to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.

"Why did Kneph come back after I died?" he asked suddenly.

Lucario gave him a hard look, but he persisted.

"I'm part of the team now, right? There's no reason to keep me in the dark. Besides, you were the one that brought that up earlier today."

Lucario sat in the grass and crossed his legs, never taking his eyes off of Link. The Hylian was a bit puzzled by his actions.

"Sit," the pokemon commanded. "There is much to tell, and you may not like everything you hear."

Link took a few steps back and sat on the trunk of a tree, awaiting Lucario's response.

Lucario hunched forward a bit, prepared to whisper the answer Link sought. It seemed a little ridiculous considering that Lucario spoke through telepathy, and thus should have total control over who could hear what he needed to say. And yet the gesture signified that he was about to divulge some _very_ sensitive information.

"He was assigned a new target to annihilate – Princess Zelda."

* * *

_**What could Zelda have possibly done to become a target after Link died? Guess you'll have to wait to find out!**_

_**In other news, even though the story is called Minuet of Link, I have no intention of introducing the other Links that have graced SSB (Young Link, Toon Link), mostly for storyline purposes. I won't completely rule it out in the future if I can come up with a good idea and role for them, but they're definitely not appearing in this installment.**_

_**You may have noticed Lucario's little dig at Smash Mansion – I find it to be a lazy and uninspired concept and don't like how it's been universally adopted as fanon. So you won't see a Smash Mansion in this series, or most likely any SSB story I ever write.**_


	18. CH 17: Bright Souls

_**And here is the second half of the previous chapter. Questions will be answered, mysteries will be solved (maybe), and the earth will tremble.**_

_**Wait, what?**_

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Bright Souls**

"W-what!" Link sputtered, instinctively reaching for the Master Sword. "Why does he want Zelda, besides an attempt to hurt me?"

"It's about the souls. It's always been about the souls."

"What does that even mean?" Link asked through gritted teeth. Lucario knew all of this time and he let Zelda go off back to the castle when they could have been watching over her.

"Calm yourself," Lucario said so low that it was almost a whisper. "Kneph does not realize that Zelda is his target."

Link released his grip on the Master Sword and let it slide back into the sheath on his back. He took a deep breath and looked up to the bright half-moon in the sky. A wall of clouds made their way across the sky and threatened to shroud the moon in minutes.

"Allow me to explain the situation more thoroughly, but to do that we must go back to earlier today. Did you not wonder how I found you in Centropolis? A schoolboy that was a reincarnated hero with only fleeting memories of his past life."

Link actually had wondered, and it was something Freddy had mentioned.

"Among a spirit elementalist's repertoire of powers is the ability to see and read souls. I located and identified your soul because it's special. You have a Champion Soul, and so does Princess Zelda. And though I've never encountered him, I'm sure your nemesis Ganondorf has one as well."

"Soul of a champion, huh?" Link replied with bitter cynicism. "Some accolades if they're even handing them out to _Ganondorf!_"

"Champion Souls burn brighter than normal souls. They represent a being with the will and power to greatly impact the future of their world – but not necessarily a pure soul. Simply put, one in possession of a Champion Soul is not to be trifled with."

"So I take it Kneph is going after everyone with Champion Souls? All of this time and he didn't connect any dots to Zelda?"

"Kneph is a brash, murderous fool. Demons are soulless creatures composed of the worst of humanity while harboring disdain for the best life has to offer. They don't have consciences and don't understand concepts like love, loyalty or compassion. At their core lies what I like to call an anti-soul for lack of a better name.

"The way they locate souls is to get close to one. It gives them a feeling of revulsion, and it's greatest around Champion Souls. Since Kneph has never engaged the princess in battle..."

"He never got close enough to realize the truth," Link murmured. "He's been killing random people, probably hoping that along the way he'd run into another Champion Soul...me being the hero that I am, I couldn't let him get away with the killings, so I basically outed myself the first time we fought. It explains why he was so happy to see me when we met in the castle town."

Lucario scratched his chin in thought. "When you defeated Kneph and passed, Azazel must have realized there was at least one other Champion Soul here. I don't know how he can sense souls, but he seems to be able to do it even within the depths of The Void. He knows when the Champion Souls are removed from a world so that he can consume it with little resistance."

'Consumed' made Link imagine a giant monster taking a bite out of the land, but something as dangerous as Azazel couldn't possibly be that ridiculous.

"What exactly happens to a world that's consumed?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably on the tree stump he was sitting on.

Lucario sighed and said, "Do you remember how you felt in The Void? Azazel engulfs a world in a suffocating ocean of darkness that feeds off of your very life force, paralyzing you as your humanity is slowly eaten away and your mind is filled with fear and despair. You live a torturous existence until you give up or burn out, leaving simply your core, but it never truly ends, for those consumed in Azazel's darkness cannot truly die, and thus their souls are trapped in their fallen world."

"Death would only be merciful in that situation..." Link murmured, almost in disbelief of his own words.

Lucario suddenly stood and began to pace as he explained further, "Not only is what Azazel submitting worlds to a fate worse than death, it is severely disrupting the flow of the universe. The reason worlds like Hyrule surround Centropolis is because they are connected by spiritual corridors. When a life is extinguished in its world of origin, the soul travels to Centropolis and is reincarnated. When that life is over, the soul returns to its origin world and starts the process again."

"Wow, who knew? So if I died again I'd be reincarnated here?"

Lucario nodded. "The raccoon boy. You have noticed that there is no one like him in this land, correct? His soul originates from Lylat, and will only travel between it and Centropolis."

Link leaned back on the stump. "I guess that explains the gorons in the Ruffleton district and the zoras in the Sharya district."

"It's a delicate process and you'll notice its work the more you think about it," Lucario said.

"So souls _never_ cross over to a world they're not supposed to?"

Lucario hesitated for a moment before he said, "It is extremely rare, but it can happen. But it won't matter if Azazel has his way. Souls trapped in his web cannot move on and become reincarnated. Life in the universe will completely stagnate and cease to exist if he consumes all the worlds."

"This is a battle for life as we know it..." Link murmured, letting the gravity of the situation weigh in on him.

"It seems that you understand what we're up against..." Lucario trailed off and a short silence ensued before he broke it, "I...may have been hasty in my decision earlier not to return to Centropolis."

Link looked up suddenly and noticed Lucario's demeanor change.

"I am not guaranteeing anything," he added on quickly. "I will consider it in the morning after surveying the situation with Kneph. For now, it is best to rest up."

Lucario suddenly leapt towards Link's house and entered, and the moonlight seemed to leave with him. Link watched to moon disappear behind the wall of clouds and couldn't stop from thinking about the worlds Azazel may have already consumed. What would he do if Hyrule met the same fate as Roy's world?

A rustle in the bushes caught his attention, far more active than what the small breeze of the night could have provided. His instincts kicked in and he jumped up with his shield raised just as a figure exploded from the foliage and slid towards him in a blur. The shield blocked the impact of a massive sword and Link jumped away from the caped man.

"Who are you?" he demanded of the stranger. "Why are you attacking me?"

"Prepare yourself!" his assailant replied.

The moon broke through the clouds just long enough to illuminate the area once again. Link didn't recognize the blue hair, green bandana, red cape or golden sword of his opponent. Was this man working for the demons? Would they even cooperate with a human? He wore a cold look on his face that was nearly impossible to read.

The blue-haired swordsman followed up by attacking Link directly. He wasn't particularly fast, but he was strong enough to wield the massive golden sword with one hand. Link found it more efficient to dodge the incoming attacks entirely than block them based on the power behind each swing – he might tire out before this guy did!

Link broke off the fighting again and made some distance for himself; he couldn't put his heart into a real battle without knowing the reason behind the stranger's attacks.

"This is pointless!" he pleaded one last time.

"Where is your fighting spirit!" the swordsman called out in disappointment. "You are not worthy!"

The golden sword flashed in the moonlight as the swordsman drove it into the ground, generating a shockwave that ripped through the earth in a straight line for Link. It was canceled out by the green barrier which Link summoned immediately. The swordsman stopped briefly, admiring the sight.

"Maybe I underestimated you," he said, though the grin on his face was more condescending than impressed. He lifted the sword in the air again, pointing the blade towards the ground, and held it in that position until it ignited in flames.

Fire surrounded him when the sword pierced the ground, but most alarming was the quaking at his feet. Three large pieces of earth were upheaved and rose into the air by his will alone. They hovered in the sky before bursting into flames and hurtling towards Link.

"This is ridiculous!" Link cried out, knowing that he couldn't escape the impact of the molten rocks on foot. He expanded the magical barrier, hoping it wasn't a futile measure, but the collision he braced for never came.

"Ike! What is the meaning of this?"

Link looked up to find the rocks extinguished and covered in a thin layer of aura. They were slowly lowered to the ground. Lucario stepped between the two combatants.

"I was testing his skill...to see if he was worthy of wearing the brand," Ike explained, immediately lowering his sword. The bravado he had before practically vanished under the gaze of Lucario.

"That is for me to decide," Lucario stated harshly. "Is testing Link your way of saying that you think I chose poorly?"

"Not at all!" Ike said quickly with a bow. "I apologize if it seems as if I was second guessing your decision."

"Link is our ally. You should do nothing to betray his trust."

"Yes, master."

_Master?_ Link thought, sheathing the Master Sword. Well, Ike was acting like a student being reprimanded by his teacher after all. And Lucario couldn't be a worse teacher than Mr. Vaughn, could he?

Ike suddenly bowed towards Link, "I apologize if my behavior offended you."

"Um...yeah, sure. As long as you don't try to drop meteors on me again."

"Ike! Come, tell me of your findings," Lucario told his 'pupil,' motioning for him to follow. "We can discuss them with the team in the morning."

Ike bowed again before following Lucario, though Link did catch a glimpse of the man that challenged him only minutes earlier.

"That guy might be more dangerous than Kneph..."

* * *

_**That's the most times I've ever written the word "soul" in one instance.**_

_**Ike finally makes his debut, and seems to have something against Link. Did you guess his identity before it was made obvious?**_

_**The next chapter marks the start of a new day, and that day will be one Hyrule will never forget.**_


	19. CH 18: Kneph's Revenge

_**Another split POV chapter – and I have nothing to apologize for because it works for me! **_

_**We are inching closer to the final battle (of this story) and the stakes will be raised.**_

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Kneph's Revenge**

Roy exited Link's home with an obnoxious yawn and began an improvised stretching routine, demonstrating for no one in particular that he was in tip-top shape and fully healed after Kneph's attack. A sudden gust of wind blew his cape against his face, signaling the end of that moment.

He looked up to the overcast morning sky, the thick grey clouds having effectively choked all signs of the sun out of existence. A frown traced his lips for just a second.

Lucario was near the aftermath of the battle between Link and Ike. Roy strolled around the craters and boulders that littered Link's front yard, surveying them with a whistle.

"Link told me what happened, but this place looks like a warzone!"

Lucario ignored him, but he was used to that. As he got closer, he noticed a serious glower on the pokemon's face as his red eyes were fixated on the sky. Well, it was more of a glower than Lucario usually wore.

"What's up?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"There is a malicious wind blowing through Hyrule," Lucario replied cryptically.

"Uh...is that allegorical? Is something nasty heading this way?"

"No, there is literally malice within the wind."

Roy scratched his head.

"I...don't think that's something that can be literal."

"Fool! I can **feel** it! This wind is unnatural; it is generated with hateful intentions. I have no qualms guessing the source."

Roy rolled his eyes, "So there is something nasty coming here after all."

Another strong gust passed through the area, causing Roy's cape to flap.

"I'd say the wind is a bit rude," the swordsman said with a grin, remembering the incident just a minute ago, "but malicious is a pretty strong description." His humor fell on deaf ears.

"I'm going to trace it to its source," Lucario stated suddenly.

"Wait, you're going off by yourself? And what if it really is Kneph? Are you just going to take him on all alone?"

Lucario folded his arms and Roy narrowed his eyes.

"You're always telling us not to go off and fight the demons by ourselves. But you're the leader so I guess that gives you special privileges."

"There is something about this wind that is leaving me incredibly unsettled. I cannot sit still while..."

Lucario's thoughts were cut short by a horse galloping down the forest trail. Rusl, Link's former mentor, rode the steed with a panic stricken face.

"You must get Link!" he called out to them, but it was unnecessary. Just the sound of his name summoned Link from his home.

Rusl struggled to bring the horse to a stop; the terror deep in the animal's bright eyes made it evident that this went against all of its instincts.

"What is it?" Link asked in a commanding tone, stepping ahead of Lucario and Roy.

"The wind wraith has struck again. The castle town – I've never seen a storm like it!"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Wind funnels tearing homes from the very earth! Lightning striking relentlessly! The sky has waged war with the land!"

Lucario's arms unfolded and his eyes widened. "The Tempest!"

"Wanna run that one by us again?" Roy quipped.

"It is Kneph's ultimate power; a fierce, unrelenting storm that destroys everything in its wake. He must be absolutely desperate to summon it."

"He's still a coward to target the castle town and not us!" Link growled.

"Roy, gather the rest of the Brotherhood," Lucario commanded. "If there are to be any survivors from the town, we must pool our efforts to evacuate the people and stave off the storm!"

Link had already acted, running to one side of his home where Epona waited. He mounted the horse and rode up to Lucario.

"There's no time to lose so I'm going on ahead."

Lucario nodded, knowing there was really nothing he could say to deter the hylian.

"Don't get yourself killed. I went through a lot of trouble awakening your soul once already."

Link responded with a cynical laugh before Epona's powerful legs broke into a run down the forest trail.

* * *

Neal's silver car hovered to a stop next to the curb. The street was quaint and a little grungy with a few shops, and the overcast skies only heightened the sense that he was walking into something a little shady. He stepped out of the car and scoped the area, taking extra care not to let his tail brush against the damp street.

"Yo! Over here."

He looked over his car into the alleyway, noticing a striped tail behind a white trench coat. The skunk stepped onto the sidewalk, the white fur atop his head slicked back and his hands tucked into the coat.

If he was trying to be covert or intimidating, it wasn't really working.

"Really Don, an alleyway? You had me drive all the way to Deelburg so we could meet in a dirty alley?"

"No way! I don't treat my friends like that."

He motioned for Neal to follow and they walked down the empty sidewalk to a coffee shop and pseudo diner. The etching on the glass door read '_Burg Days._'

Garish yellow walls were accompanied by burgundy seating, and Neal was surprised to find the place to be quite empty when they entered. A few humans were there, including an old man engrossed in a virtual newspaper and a young mother with her son who were on the way out.

Of course it was the weekend so there were less people in need of their morning coffee. Neal was relieved at the lack of activity; he didn't want to discuss sensitive matters while submerged in a sea of people.

They found a window booth in the corner of the shop and Don initiated the conversation as soon as they settled.

"How's the family? I mean, besides this recent little incident."

"Fine, for the most part. What about you?"

"My social life is still as nonexistent as ever," the skunk said in a mock cheery tone.

"Well you're always working..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Nobody's fault but my own. Look, I'm sorry for dragging you all the way out here after you called last night but I think you know how secret and potentially explosive this information is."

Neal cast a quick glance around the shop. "How do you know we're not being watched now?"

"First of all, the coffee here is mediocre at best. Second, nobody there appreciates the retro novelty of this place like I do. They wouldn't step foot in here."

Neal chuckled and found himself asking, "Why go to a coffee shop where the coffee sucks?"

"For the Burg Cakes, of course."

A girl in a black shirt and khaki pants began wiping down one of the nearby tables. "Hey Donny. You come for the usual?"

"Two this time, Cindy," Don said, holding up two fingers.

"I'll get 'em in a minute, you make yourselves comfortable" she replied, moving to the next table.

Neal couldn't help but feel like time was ticking away.

"This small talk is nice, but..."

Neal turned his attention back to the table and found a black tablet sitting squarely in the center. He hadn't seen or even heard Don place it down and yet, there it was. Government property or his own personal tablet? It didn't really matter where it came from as long as it delivered.

Don leaned back with a cocky grin and said, "This is what you wanted, right?"

"I'm going to figure out how you do that."

"What are you waiting for? Go on, watch it!"

The tablet brimmed to life and the video in question was already loaded. All he had to do was tell it to play.

The camera was low to the ground with foliage to the far sides. Neal figured it must have been in one of the statues or monuments in the Lucent Gardens. In the distance was a man clad in green and a blue jackal. They were in the middle of a conversation that proved brief before a blue field of energy encapsulated them and rose into the sky. The camera angled upward in an effort to follow them but they ultimately disappeared.

Neal was silent as he ran the video twice and then three times. Finally, he stopped it on a frame and zoomed in the man in green.

"That's definitely Link...if he were a couple years older." He looked up to Don, who seemed to be waiting on him, and said, "You know I'm going to need a copy of this."

Don's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What? No! No way, man."

"Donny! Albert and Nora need some kind of proof. Link's been missing for almost a day...any longer and they're going to get the authorities involved. Derwin was one of the last people to see Link and..."

"And the last thing you want is for the cops to start hassling him. If the cops do get involved, the worst thing Derwin can do is tell them the absolute truth. It's almost guaranteed that they won't believe a word he says, but if they do, then that's where my department steps in..."

"Please? Come on, I have to protect my family!"

Don closed his eyes, obviously wrestling with the idea.

"If this gets out, they're gonna have my ass," he suddenly said. "And yours too."

There was a heaviness to his tone that Neal was familiar with. It always meant that he was dead serious.

"I thought you were pretty high up over there?"

"You're never too high to get your ass kicked to the ground."

Don took the tablet and shoved it inside of his coat. Neal's heart sank and it was written all over his face.

"Now, wait a minute. I'll get this video to you," Don assured him. "But we're doing it my way. I'll send it to your email but it'll be encrypted."

"I don't know how to decrypt anything."

"Don't worry, I'll send you a decryption key later on. Show the video to the kid's parents and delete all traces of it. Might want to wipe your computer too just to be safe."

"Thanks Donny, I owe you."

"You practically have a tab with me now."

The tone considerably lightened when the Burg Cakes arrived; Don was almost giddy.

"You have GOT to try these!" he squealed.

Neal looked down at the square cake in front of him. Blueberries were scattered along the red and white icing. It certainly looked tasty.

"Derwin would have my head if he saw me eating this..."

* * *

Clouds had blanketed the skies of Hyrule, but a particular mass of black clouds settled over the castle town, where it coiled down into a monstrous storm.

Epona fought against the wind the best she could. It whipped in all directions whenever it felt like it; the only thing not random about it was its intent to deter anyone from coming to the aid of the people in the town.

Link halted Epona as they approached the bridge leading into the town. With disappointment and determination etched on his face, the hylian dismounted Epona to survey the damage.

The doors had been blown off of the gate and the bridge leading into town had collapsed. The gap was too large for Epona to jump and, even if she could clear it, the wind was so erratic that Link wouldn't chance it.

This was intentional, no doubt. Not only was this keeping him out, it was keeping the populace in. There were other gates into town, but traveling all the way around to them would take up precious time.

"You waiting on us?"

Link turned to find Roy, Lucario, Peach, Marth and Ike: the Brotherhood. For just a moment, he forgot that he wasn't alone anymore. This wasn't just his fight.

Lucario gave Ike a nod, prompting the swordsman to step in front of the remains of the bridge. He drove his blade into the earth like he did when he challenged Link, who had to keep Epona calm when the ground started to quake.

The last remnants of the bridge collapsed and the earth stretched and protruded out before slamming into the other side. The new earth bridge was warped and a little rough, but it served its purpose.

"Let us waste no more time!" Lucario commanded.

Link held his head against Epona's and stroked the horse's silky white mane.

"Last time I brought you here with me, you almost met the same fate as I did by the hands of Kneph. I won't force you into the fray this time if you don't want to go."

He was hoping for her to respond in her own way and tell how she felt. He got more than he bargained for when a small voice manifested from within. It was so faint that he wasn't sure if it really was a voice or just a feeling, but its intentions were clear.

_I'll follow you anywhere._

Mild surprise registered; no one else seemed to have heard it. But after learning about the element bonded to his soul, Link began to understood and mounted Epona once again, bringing up the rear as the team crossed the makeshift bridge into the town.

But even that distance couldn't prepare Link for the ambush from the raging storm. A dark funnel of wind touched down on top of them, ripping them up into skies of chaos.

* * *

_**Looks like the Brotherhood will have to save themselves before they can save the castle town.**_


	20. CH 19: Tempest

_**This chapter got longer than I originally anticipated, so I split it in order to give the subsequent scenes in the next chapter some fleshing out, instead of trying to rush it along. Thankfully, there are all kinds of details peppered along this chapter, alluding to the past and the future.**_

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Tempest**

Link had been separated from Epona is the spiraling twister, and he only had fleeting moments of spotting his comrades in the fury of the storm. But there was a curious light coming from one of them – Lucario to be exact.

The pokemon summoned two aura spheres, one for each hand. He slammed them together and created a powerful blast that ruptured and destroyed the twister's hold, but without the force of the wind, everyone began to free fall.

Link was saved before he knew it. He looked up to find Peach with a tight grip on his wrist. Her white parasol glided them down to safety, and before he could begin to panic regarding the fate of Epona, she appeared in an aura bubble that protected her as well as the rest of the Brotherhood.

"Kneph has full control over the storm," Lucario stated with a hint of anger. "He was waiting for us."

"I am sure we were quite aware that this could be a trap," Marth said, "but we all came with the intent of protecting everyone caught in the crossfire of the war."

There was a round of nods and agreement; not a single member had been deterred.

Lucario's sights were set on the sky. "I will see what I can do about the twisters. Find any survivors and get them to safety."

The pokemon shot into the air in a blur to challenge the storm itself. Ike's demeanor immediately changed, as if he were exerting command in Lucario's absence.

"We should split up to cover more ground at a faster pace."

"Okay, sure," Roy responded, though his true thoughts were written on his face.

Link hopped onto Epona and was about to begin his own search when Peach grabbed his attention – and his leg.

"Would you like some company?"

"It's fine with us, right Epona?"

The horse nickered quietly in response, nearly inaudible from the roar of the storm.

Before Link could even move to help Peach onto Epona, she had already leapt up and onto the horse, settling behind him. He was impressed but kept it to himself; he didn't want to imply that he saw her as only needing pampering and assistance.

Epona trotted through the town at a steady pace. The streets were cast in a low, eerie light thanks to the absence of the sun and the swirling clouds above. It reminded Link of so long ago when he walked the twilight-laden streets of the castle town with Midna. The total lack of people wasn't helping the atmosphere.

"This is purely curiosity, prin...I mean, Peach. Why did you want to come along with me?" Link asked.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to watch a hero with a girl's own two eyes, is there?"

"No, not really..."

"The truth is that everything I know about you I've been told by other people, like your friend Ilia," Peach told him. Link wasn't sure what to think; depending on Ilia's mood, she could have said anything.

"I want to get to know you personally, Link."

"The feeling is mutual, though I can't say I've been told too much about you."

"Well, let's cover the basics: I'm a princess, my favorite color is pink, and I love cake!" She let out a girlish giggle afterwards.

Link laughed at the juvenile innocence. It was quite surreal considering what they were in the middle of.

"What is your kingdom like?" he asked, imagining a version of Hyrule where everyone dressed in pink and ate cake all day.

"The Mushroom Kingdom is quite marvelous and houses many, many strange but wonderful lands. You should come visit sometime..."

Some of the cheeriness had been drained from the princess's voice, and Link had an inkling why.

"How long have you been away from your home?"

"We travel there a lot, actually, but never stay too long...I've left the kingdom in good hands once I joined the Brotherhood. It couldn't be any safer under the watch of Mario."

"I've heard you mention that name before. He doesn't want to join the team? We could use all the help we can get."

"That's a long story..."

They reached the town square and drew to a stop. The statue built in Link's honor, the one he never quite got to admire, had been reduced to rubble in the fountain; a taunt, no doubt. And there didn't seem to be anyone here, either.

"Maybe we're too late and everyone evacuated already?" Peach suggested.

The thought had crossed Link's mind, but so did one on the possibility that everyone had already been lost.

"It's not Kneph's style to focus so much energy on a place where there are no people left to suffer," he surmised, suppressing his fears.

A flash of lighting struck a nearby abandoned store, sending the tarps over its entrance up in flames. Epona was spooked and immediately ran away and down a street littered with debris, her panicked cries drowned out by the deafening boom of thunder.

Link eventually managed to calm the horse and brought her to a halt.

"I don't think that was a coincidence," Peach murmured, but quickly turned her attention to a pile of debris that used to be a store. Link it felt it too – there was a presence here.

A raven-haired woman emerged from hiding, finding the façade having lost its purpose. She came towards them with a slow, confident stride, though there was nothing threatening in her step.

And then she laid into them.

"Are you people stupid? Why are you sitting out in the open like this?"

Link's eyes widened as he got a good look at her. "...Ashei!"

"Link!" The woman softened a bit, "Rusl spoke of the truth! You are alive!"

"Yes. We've come to evacuate the city and put an end to this storm."

"Then...was it you that dispelled the twister earlier?"

"Not quite – it was a friend, but he's working on keeping them under control."

"Even so..." Ashei motioned for them to follow as she retreated back into the remains of the store.

Epona carefully navigated through the debris under the half of roof that was left. Huddled in a corner and staring back at them were the tear-stained faces of several children.

"Evacuation efforts have been ongoing," Ashei stated in a hushed voice. "I've been rounding up the children that have lost their parents, either through separation or...worse."

Link looked upon the children and wondered of their ages. How many of them had been born in the years that he was gone? All of them raised in a new era where a hero no longer existed...if things continued in this direction, his return would no longer be secret, but said return needed to be triumphant. There was no room for a lackluster hero in Hyrule.

These people needed hope.

"We'll help you reach safety," Link said with Peach echoing his sentiments, but Ashei's face only looked slightly relieved.

"Link, the storm is alive. It watches us, toys with us. It must be stopped." She stepped out from under the roof and pointed to two of the tornadoes ripping through different parts of the town.

"Do you see those in particular? They're planted at the entrances and they rarely budge. No one gets in or out."

Peach curiously tilted her head, "Where have the people been evacuating to?"

"The castle. The pathway is fortified; the only hurdle is getting to it." Ashei suddenly sighed and said, "Link, I believe you want to help, but unless I see the perfect opportunity, I'm not willing to risk these children's lives out in that storm."

Link felt a sudden sense of worthiness, as if the goddesses aligned the stars just for this moment.

_This is why I'm here_, he thought.

"I have a way to protect everyone. Do you trust me?"

Ashei slowly nodded.

"Gather the children and stay close," he told her. He closed his eyes and concentrated, summoning the barrier without using the Hylian Shield as a focal point. A green sphere encapsulated Epona and he heard the children's various gasps.

"Don't be afraid. This magic barrier will protect us from the storm," Link spoke softly. The barrier expanded, making room for everyone. "Stay close."

Epona started with a slow trot, though Link found that maintaining the barrier took more concentration than he imagined.

"I'll need you to do the navigating," he whispered into the horse's ear. "That way, I can focus all of my energy into the barrier."

Epona silently obliged.

The trip was mostly uneventful, though the barrier did deflect debris tossed their way.

Eventually, they found the path blocked by the rubble of a collapsed building. Link knew Epona would have no trouble getting over, but the children would be another story.

Peach squeezed Link's should and said, "Allow me." She opened her palm and pointed it at the pile of rubble in the road.

A jet of wind shot from her hand and burrowed into the pile before exploding like a grenade, scattering the debris and making the pathway much more accessible.

Ashei was devastated by the results.

"You're bringing more attention to us!"

"Are you suuure?" the princess asked.

A bolt of lightning struck the barrier. Link grunted; it took all of his concentration to keep it from collapsing just from that attack.

Ashei tossed an icy glare at Peach.

Peach shrugged and murmured, "Hm, I guess so."

"Link, we must pick up the pace. A twister is certainly heading our way now!"

Link nodded, "As long as the children can keep up."

The twister Ashei spoke of wasted no time making a beeline through the town for them. Link could imagine the twisted grin on Kneph's face, wherever he was, as he played director and sent it their way. The good news was that street they were on was mostly a straight path towards the castle.

The wind was taking its toll on the world around them, whipping about lose objects and ripping pieces of crumbling buildings to join the rings of debris that spiraled along the length of the twister.

Link's barrier kept the wind at bay, but his confidence in the barrier holding up if the twister actually reached them waned. For a brief moment, he considered breaking off from the group and heading in another direction as bait. After all, his Champion Soul was in the crosshairs of Kneph, so why not?

Before he got the chance to act, Lucario appeared and dove into the heart of the twister, using his same maneuver of aura diffusion to overpower it. The death of the twister also meant its collection of junk was now at the mercy of gravity.

"Let's hurry before another twister takes its place!" Ashei shouted over the rainfall of miscellaneous objects.

They made a straight shot through the town square and into the now fortified corridor leading to the castle. The journey had been so frantic that no one had bothered to look back. If anything had come after them, they either outran it or had Lucario watching their backs.

Link lowered the barrier with a sigh of relief and took the rear while Ashei lead from the front. The courtyard of the castle had several soldiers ushering them into enter the castle, horse and all.

The cylindrical room was flooded with survivors, many in need of medical attention. It was apparent that castle staff was stretched thin.

Some of the children dispersed in search of family members. The few that knew that there was nothing to search for were held tightly by Ashei.

"You are safe!" Marth exclaimed, emerging from the crowds. "Have you seen the others?"

Link and Peach traded glances before dismounting from Epona.

"We haven't seen Ike or Roy since we split up," the princess said.

"And Lucario's out there fighting the storm," Link added.

"I see..." Marth murmured, but he didn't sound too concerned. "Link, Princess Zelda has been looking for you."

"Oh, how urgent is it?"

"Quite important – it seems she has located Kneph."

* * *

_**For the people that never played Twilight Princess or just don't remember, Ashei was a member of the group in Telma's bar that helped Link reach some of the dungeons in the latter half of the game. Ashei scouted Snowpeak.**_

_**And a bit of a warning: as September approaches, I will be shifting my focus back to Kirby's Insane Journey, in particular the second Halloween special so I can post that by October. Progress on this story my slow down a bit as a result, but it's only temporary. There are literally only a few chapters left, I want to get those done and dive right into the sequel.**_


	21. CH 20: Steel Princess

_**I was writing this chapter when hurricane Irene hit. That should fill my irony quota.**_

_**This is another Link & Zelda centric chapter akin to chapter 6, if the chapter title wasn't allusive enough.**_

* * *

**Chapter 20 – Steel Princess**

The two guards positioned at the staircase moved their spears, allowing Link to pass. The amount of armor strapped to every inch of their body brought back bad memories of encounters with the mysterious Darknut warriors. He needed to remind himself never to get on the bad side of these guys.

Zelda waited at the top of the staircase, but as Link drew closer, she suddenly turned and walked towards an ornate door. She motioned for Link to follow and they stepped into a large hallway.

The echo of the door closing behind them was unsettling. The hallway was completely devoid of people save for themselves, and a few braziers set along the walls providing a dim, shifting light.

Rain beat against the windows, along with the occasional flash of lightning accompanied by the rumble of thunder. The storm was only getting worse, and though the castle stood diligently, it would buckle under the increasing strength of the Tempest.

"I appreciate my protection, but I believe this is a conversation we should keep to ourselves," the princess said with a smile. "I commend you for helping our people...you're going after Kneph soon, aren't you?"

Link read behind Zelda's expression. He had felt that from Colin once before: a yearning to be of help. She had already made it clear once before that she wanted participate in the fall of the demon.

"Yes, we are," he replied. "The storm will continue unless we destroy him. The castle has resisted so far, but the power of the storm will steadily increase until there's nothing left. I'm starting to think he planned on trapping us in here like rats to level the castle on top of us all..."

"Then we must see to his demise quickly, yes?"

_We?_ Link silently mouthed. "Princess! I've told you once before, the battlefield is no place for you."

"And I told you that it was strictly my choice."

"Zelda..." Link lowered his voice. He had to make her understand through her stubbornness, and a thought came into his head. "Do you know why Kneph came back to terrorize Hyrule after I died?"

"Lucario has been short with explanations and scarce with details, but from what I gathered, the demon is looking to annihilate powerful warriors that could rise up and pose a threat to his master."

"It's a little more defined than that – he wants to destroy everyone with a Champion Soul. Zelda, you and I have these souls! And so does the Brotherhood! Azazel fears our potential power, and that is why he sent Kneph to continue his rampages! _We are his targets!_"

"I...I can't say that I am entirely shocked by these developments..." Even so, the princess took a step back and her gaze fell onto the floor.

"I often wondered why Lucario chose to reveal himself and his operation to me. The things he has accomplished so far never required good rapport with the Royal Family, and yet he often informed me of some of his activities, and checked in when he could...as if he were watching over and protecting me."

Lucario becoming everyone's savior was starting to turn into a trend, even when no one asked for his help. Link was grateful for all he had been doing, but now he felt like someone was stepping on his toes. There were certain things that belonged under his watch, princesses included, even if he was incapable of doing the actual watching. Where did Lucario come from, anyway?

He realized that his feelings were a little irrational, and the origins of Lucario would have to wait.

"Speaking of protection," he started, "Kneph doesn't actually know that you have a Champion Soul. If you fight him, he will sense it, and that shield of ignorance won't keep you off his radar anymore."

Zelda fell silent, letting the room fill with the steady cacophony of the storm outside.

"I...still must do this," she whispered sternly.

Link couldn't believe his pointed ears. "But you're the princess! What will Hyrule do if something happens to you?"

"Link, I know that. But you must also understand that a princess is a not a person – it is a title; a thing to be revered and pampered and coddled. I am not just a princess; I am a person, a Hylian, and a Hyrulean. This is my country and I will protect it."

Link fell silent. He'd never truly know what it was like to be a princess. If Zelda needed to vent, she was entitled to it.

"They do not respect me because I am Zelda. They respect me because I am a princess. But I believe that...all people with titles deserving of respect, should **earn** that respect. My lineage bestows me with extraordinary magical prowess far beyond the average citizen and yet I am expected to take shelter in the throne room while far less powerful men bleed on the cobblestones of our land to protect me, a prime target of the demon.

"Quite frankly, it's absurd. Would you let those men die for you, Link?"

It was Link's turn to gaze at the floor. "I...well no, I wouldn't."

"I will earn my keep as princess. I will do this, Link."

"What if I said that **I** wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you?"

That headstrong energy fueling the princess went cold and she was taken aback by Link's sudden confession. His worry was not for the princess, but the woman standing before him. Very few people were so forward with her, reaching for the lonely woman suffocating under the expectations of an inherited burden.

"I will consider it," she murmured as her heart leapt. Why was she caving so suddenly? It was a thought they both shared.

"You know where Kneph is?" Link asked quickly, not wanting to give her the chance to change her mind.

"Oh, yes. I've sensed his foul presence since late last night. It's centered at the top of Death Mountain."

Link rushed out of the hallway and Zelda chased after him.

"Where are you going?" she called after him.

"We need to get the Brotherhood together."

Link spotted Roy standing near the bottom of the staircase. He had a suspicion that the red headed swordsman was eavesdropping, though that couldn't have been too effective as the guards refused to let him near the door.

"Roy! Find everyone and get them here. Kneph is at Death Mountain and we're going to need a plan."

* * *

"Before we can get to Kneph we have to get out of _here_," Roy said, looking out of the window of the hallway. The heavy rain obscured his vision. "We're sitting ducks."

"We've rescued everyone we could find," stated Ike, proud of their accomplishments.

"But it seems the storm has grown fiercer in response," Marth surmised.

"That's not a surprise," Lucario stated. "The Tempest only increases in strength; Kneph is most likely hoping to level the castle with everyone still in it. Stepping outside will make us easy targets."

Link leaned against the wall and shared a glance with Zelda before saying, "There are hidden passages beneath the castle. But with the torrential rains, they may be flooded. No one's afraid to swim, are they? "

"I actually have a better, and dryer, solution," Zelda spoke up. She turned to Link specifically and whispered, "If I don't participate in the battle, will you at least allow me help you reach Kneph?"

"Of course. What did you have in mind?"

"I have a spell that can get us close to Death Mountain," the princess said aloud.

Everyone perked up as Zelda stepped over to the hallway's entrance and slightly opened the door. The guards posted eagerly awaited her return.

"I'll be gone for a while."

"But princess...!"

Zelda gave a look that silenced the guardsman before shutting the door. She walked towards the center of the hallway and held her arms out.

"Let's form a circle and join hands."

They gathered into a circle, though Roy hesitated.

"We don't have to sing, do we?" he quipped. Peach grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard enough to make him flinch.

"Don't break the connection," Zelda warned them. "You don't want to end up somewhere else like Snowpeak or the bottom of Lake Hylia."

She closed her eyes and bowed her head. A breeze entered the room and surrounded them. As the breezed increased in strength, Link noticed that the room had become darker, and not just because of the extinguished braziers. Soon enough the room had been rendered completely black, yet he could perfectly see his comrades, as well as the phenomenon of green gusts surrounding them. The darkness was comforting, and the wind felt as if it were simply, and gently, guiding them to their next destination.

And within an instant, they were standing within the dusty confines of Kakariko Village.

"Zelda, that was amazing!" Link exclaimed, but the princess nearly hit the ground before he could catch her. "Zelda!"

Lucario touched Zelda's cheek as Link held her. "The spell must have drained her energy. Her skin has paled."

"..Link?"

A teenage girl stood near the door of one of the larger homes. Beyond that, it seemed that Kakariko was deserted – just as he remembered it.

It took Link a moment to recognize the girl as the daughter of Renado, the shaman of the village. In the years, she let her hair grow, and her slightly boyish appearance was just a memory.

"Luda! The princess needs help!"

* * *

"I was supposed to be protecting her..." Link murmured, his gaze falling to the princess in the bed across the room.

"You should not worry, she is only resting," Renado consoled Link. Bronze skin and dark locks adorned a wise and contemplative face, and robes draped his body. He hadn't changed much in Link's absence.

"The princess has a strong spirit, and she most likely knew the possible consequences when she brought you here."

Link knew everything Renado spoke to be true already, but it didn't make him feel any better.

As Luda attended to the princess, a gloved hand suddenly grabbed her arm. Zelda's eyes shot open and took in the sight of the girl's face.

"Where is Link...?" she asked immediately.

"I'm right here," Link said, hurrying to the bedside.

Zelda let out a cynical laugh once she realized what happened. "I overestimated my ability to carry along that many people..."

"You've never done it before?"

"At most, I've taken two other people with Farore's Wind."

"I want to be upset, but you did get us here unscathed...and it was me who let you use the spell in the first place."

"I would have used Farore's Wind whether or not you 'let' me." Her face went into a scowl and her eyes focused on something unseen. "We're much closer to him now. I can feel the hate and malice oozing from him. It's staining the wind that blows through this village."

"You rest and leave everything to us. Kneph will pay. I guarantee it."

Link could see the internal struggle in the princess, being so close to the enemy and not being able to contribute any further. She finally nodded and rested her head on the pillow.

Turning his back to the princess, Link left the room and descended the staircase. He left the house, the image of the dark vortex above Death Mountain reflecting in his eyes. It seemed to be increasing in a size...was Kneph anticipating them?

"It doesn't matter," Link said aloud. "You're trapped in a corner...no doubt you'll fight harder than ever, but so will I. I'm more afraid of what I'll lose than I am of you, so it's time for you to receive the justice you've evaded for so long."

The final battle was just beginning.

* * *

_**There's good and there's bad news.**_

_**The bad news is that, like I said earlier, I'm turning my attention to Kirby's Insane Halloween II so this story is going on the backburner.**_

_**The good news is that I've already started writing chapter 21, so if I dedicate a little time here and there to this story, it won't completely stagnate for the next month or two!**_

_**I would estimate that there are about 3-4 chapters left in this story (including the epilogue). We're inching closer to the end of this story – and the next step in the saga!**_


	22. CH 21: Scaling the Darkness

_**It took longer than I anticipated, but the good news is that we're back on track! We are inching ever closer to the final battle.**_

* * *

**Chapter 21 – Scaling the Darkness**

As preparations for the strike on Kneph continued, Link took a walk through Kakariko. Most of the homes had been fixed or completely rebuilt after the twilight incident, and an effort to repopulate the village had begun right before Kneph's terror reigned down on Hyrule.

Save for some wind damage, the homes were still in good condition. It was an eerie sight for Link to see the village nearly pristine and continue to warrant its status as a ghost town.

In the dusty road were Roy and Ike, an odd combination. They shared no words, though they were fixated on Death Mountain.

Roy looked relieved when he saw Link and asked, "How's the princess?"

"She's going to be okay, but she did say something about Kneph's hate and malice tainting the wind."

Roy sighed, "What is it with everyone and 'malicious wind'?"

Link glanced around the village. "Where's everybody else?"

"Marth and Peach went to get a look up ahead. Lucario...well you never know where he disappears to. Probably goofing off where we can't see him."

Ike immediately turned an indignant glare upon Roy before growling, "Wherever he's gone to must be important."

"_Oooo!_" Roy uttered in mock fright. "If it's so important, maybe he should tell us before he disappears like that!"

"He's not obligated to tell us anything."

Roy opened his mouth to counter that assertion but was beaten to the punch.

"Quite the contrary," Lucario intervened, appearing behind them. "It's not good leadership to leave your team in the dark regarding your whereabouts."

Roy bore a cocky grin but Ike simply folded his arms and looked in any direction but his.

"However, I simply took a trip to the store to run an errand for Link. I did not think that required a briefing."

Link raised his brows, "Errand for me?"

Lucario gave him a bomb bag filled with bombs and said, "I noticed you were missing these."

"Thanks, but you didn't have to go through the trouble. I've got enough rupees to buy them myself."

"My method is much more efficient."

There was something mischievous about those words that piqued Link's interest. "...Did you threaten Barnes?"

"There was no need. My appearance was intimidating enough."

"We're supposed to be saving Hyrule, not scaring it into submission."

Peach and Marth returned with one more in tow: a large goron, his round body painted and his back covered in rugged stone. Link would have lied if he had said he could distinguish him from any of the other gorons.

The goron's wide mouth and beady eyes brightened with delight at the sight of Link.

"Brother! You live!"

He opened his arms wide and came towards Link with a hug.

"I...wait!" Link screamed, nearly panicking. "It's all thanks to _this_ guy right here!"

He pushed Lucario forward into the goron's hug.

"I – what – no!" Lucario sputtered from the goron's clutches, clearly at a loss for words.

"Don't be rude, Lucario," Roy teased, barely able to contain his amusement. "He just wants to share the love!"

Lucario growled in response.

Peach stifled a laugh while saying, "We ran into this guy when we got to the mountain trail."

"He was quite excited when we mentioned Link's name," Marth added on. "But we may have a problem."

The goron finally let Lucario go, and his smile was replaced with a hint of distress.

"Brother, a strong wind has taken over the mountain trail! I have not been able to get back to the mountain since I left this morning!"

Link put an assuring hand on the goron's shoulder, "We're heading in that direction, so we'll see what we can do about that."

Lucario gave Link an icy glare that made it clear that he would live to regret his actions one day. One day in the near, near future.

* * *

"It's like a wind tunnel!" Roy shouted over the fierce winds ripping down the trail to Death Mountain. Standing straight up was quite a feat, and even if they took their chances and fought their way up the trail, if anyone succumbed to the power of the wind, they would be at the mercy of the rocky terrain.

"It's even worse now!" their goron friend, Godor, complained.

"Luc, you can get us over this, right?" Peach asked.

Lucario grunted. "I'll show you firsthand why I'm certain that won't be possible."

He leapt into the air as a blur and navigated the skies towards the mountain, but it was a brief moment. The vortex over Death Mountain reacted violently, sending a stream of lightning his way.

One bolt after the other streaked after Lucario, the frightening accuracy only negated by the pokemon's reflexes. He was forced to retreat.

"Well...it was worth a shot," Peach murmured with a shrug.

"My tail is singed," Lucario complained when he returned. It took an iron will for Roy not to mock him.

Link took the time to think of a way around the wind. Zelda was out of commission, and if Peach's own wind powers were a match, she would have tried something already. Ike could manipulate the earth, but trying to block the wind that way while navigating such a small path would probably hurt more than help.

His own shield powers were so new and unrefined that they wouldn't last long. They needed something sturdy and moving...

"That's it!" Link cried out in enlightenment. "I've got an idea of how we can get through here, but I'm going to need Ike's help."

Ike said nothing but followed Link back to Kakariko. A few minutes later, the sound of shifting earth revealed a large owl-like statue with a soft yellow glow at its center, raised from below. The statue hopped forward a few steps, garnering a mixed reaction until Link and Ike stepped out from behind it.

"With the Dominion Rod, this statue mimics my every move," Link said, rubbing the side of the staff. "If we stay behind it, we should be able to get to Death Mountain."

They formed a small line behind the statue with Godor at the rear. The journey was slow, both due to the statue's speed and for the sake of caution.

They emerged in the valley to find it devoid of gorons. The spiraling clouds at the peak of the mountain kept it in a permeating darkness, and a silent dread draped the land. It reminded them much of the castle town; piece by piece, Hyrule was beginning to hide away under the might of Kneph.

The statue lost life as the light powering it returned to the Dominion Rod. Link knew his way around Death Mountain, but before he could even lead the way, Godor called their attention to a cave at the base of the mountain.

"There! Let us reach the safety of the mountain before drawing the ire of the storm demon!"

Inside the confines of the cave, they were greeted by the modern convenience of a worn, metal elevator. Godor ushered them onto the creaky platform and moved to grab a rusty crank at the end of the machinery. Displaying the incredible strength of the gorons, he turned the crank, lifting the elevator through the shaft above.

"Brother! We're counting on you!" He called up to them before he disappeared from their sight.

A fear had been nagging at Peach ever since they started the trek to Death Mountain. "We're stepping onto their turf. Will they let us go after Kneph?" she inquired over the squeaks of the rickety elevator.

"The gorons can't be happy about their new tenant upstairs," Link said. "It's in everyone's best interest to let us handle this." Despite how he worded it, he knew there was a chance that they wouldn't get through so easily.

The elevator's destination was a corridor that led to the main room of the gorons' home: an open, circular area with a platform in the center. Gorons were scattered about, but beyond the platform were its two leader figures, the elder Gor Coron, and the patriarch Darbus.

"Who knew granite could wrinkle?" Roy murmured on sight of Gor Coron. The elder goron was stout and weathered, but held a wise gaze that proved all his years weren't for naught.

Next to him was Darbus. With craggy forearms and an expression that seemed glued into an unending scowl, the patriarch towered above all the other gorons.

There was a grim atmosphere Link had never seen amongst the gorons. They were elated upon seeing the hero, though their reactions were notably more subdued than that of Godor, most likely due to the worrying prospect of their immediate future. In a way, Link was relieved.

"You really are a man of miracles, Little Brother," the elder hummed thoughtfully. If Darbus was impressed, he kept it to himself.

"I see the rumors of your return are true, little human," the leader said flatly. "And I know why you are here."

"It's time to finish Kneph, and these people share my goal," Link said.

"I understand you have unfinished business, but once the demon began weaving storms atop the mountain, it became the personal responsibility of the patriarch – ME, to defeat him!" Darbus declared gruffly.

Peach grimaced as it seemed her earlier fears were correct. She had no idea what to say to sway and ease Darbus, but it turned out that she didn't need to. Link didn't falter; if anything, his face was awash with confidence.

"We were in the middle of a battle when he escaped and hid here," Link recalled. "In a way, it's our responsibility too. So how about this: we pick up where we left off, and if we fail, it'll be up to you to finish him off."

Link's proposal garnered no immediate reaction from Darbus, but there was an eventual flash in the patriarch's eyes; a mutual understanding of courage and power.

Darbus stood tall and folded his arms. "I will allow it," he said with a nod, his voice much softer. "We have a passage leading to the top of the mountain. We are counting on you..."

Upon receiving a signal from Darbus, one of the gorons approached a solid wall and pressed against it. He heaved, and with the shifting of the earth, a round section of the rock wall rolled aside, revealing a secret passageway.

"Please follow me, Brother!" the goron requested with much enthusiasm. Link nodded and the Brotherhood entered the tunnel.

The path twisted and turned seemingly at random, its only consistency being a steady upwards slant. Crackling torches lining the walls suggested that the path had already been prepared for travel. Link could only help but wonder how close Darbus was to facing Kneph himself before they arrived.

The goron stopped at another stone door and turned to the party. All the enthusiasm had been washed away from his face with fear, his stony body whitening a bit under the flickering of the torches.

"This leads to a small cave at the top of the mountain. The storm demon is up there. I hope you're prepared. _Everyone_ is counting on you..."

Lucario took the lead and turned his back to the goron, facing the Brotherhood. He looked over the band of warriors he put together, taking the time to lock eyes with each member: Marth, Peach, Roy, Ike, and Link.

Finally, he spoke, "There's no turning back now. We've got Kneph cornered and only one side is going to leave the mountain alive. A master of lightning and wind, he will use new tricks and traps to defend himself and annihilate us if given the chance. Show him no mercy, and don't die. The consequence of our failure leaves a lot more than Hyrule hanging in the balance."

"This is quite a macabre battle speech even for you, Lucario," Marth admitted. This was more than the usual '_don't let me catch you slacking_' speech. Of course, the situation completely warranted it. "The lot of us realizes our lives are at stake here, as well as what we stand to lose if we do not triumph is an even greater loss. This is why we are the Brotherhood, are we not?"

Lucario nodded. "I don't need to lecture you like children..." he trailed off; a slight pained expression crossed his face as he stopped himself from continuing. It lasted only a second until his usual calm and serious demeanor returned. "Prove that I chose each member of this team correctly."

He turned to the goron who took the piercing look of his red eyes as a signal to open the way. The stone slab was slid away and they stepped into the small cave. A blast of screaming wind ripped steadily into the mouth of the cave, and the sounds of the birth of a catastrophic storm rumbled above them.

This was it. They were in the demon's territory now.

* * *

_**The final battle begins in the next chapter, and the stakes are higher than ever. Link has lived beyond his initial death, but if this battle is lost, the order of the universe could disrupted.**_

_**I can't say when exactly chapter 22 will go up, as I'm juggling it with my SSB Halloween story, but do know that I'm working on it right now.**_


	23. CH 22: Demon of Storms

_**The final battle begins! Personally, I think it was well worth the wait. In related news, I do what I always end up doing when writing busy chapters...I split them in two. So the final battle is spread across two chapters, but that will also allow me to flesh out certain things.**_

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Demon of Storms**

The stone slab slid shut, taking with it any thought or desire to retreat. The walls and floors of the small cave were slick and shiny with condensation, reflecting the dull light from the cave mouth. Fierce wind blasted the entrance, twisting into a low howl as it went.

"Are you really ready for this?" Peach murmured, laying a hand upon Link's left arm. Her touch was light.

Link nodded slowly. "I died once before fighting him. You could say I'm more ready now than ever before."

"Careful. You were lucky there was anything left of your old body to contribute in reshaping you upon awakening." Lucario wore a wry grin in the darkness.

"Wait, is that what happened to his body? In the tomb?" Roy looked Link over in disbelief. "That's gross," he said, strangely in a slow and contemplative voice.

"While we waste our breath, the demon's storm grows stronger," Ike said in distaste. He rested Ragnell on his shoulder and walked towards the mouth of the cave.

As blunt as Ike's words were, they all agreed, and followed him outside.

The twisting clouds that once hovered above the mountain had now already engulfed the top of it. They emerged inside of the funnel, the edge of path dropping down into greyness so thick you would believe it to be a solid wall. The spiraling trail itself was mostly clear, leading up to an opening near the summit of the mountain that was flat in the center. Craggy rocks lined the outside, and a few steaming pools freckled the land. The gorons loved hot springs, and this spot in particular seemed to be the most secret, and sacred, of them all.

"Welcome," Kneph hissed, hovering down from above. His normally pale (and always ghastly) face was stained black from dried demon blood. "The top of this mountain wouldn't be such a bad place for a grave, don't you agree? The view up here is usually quite splendid – when I'm not working my magic and all."

"Maybe we'll take the time to enjoy it when you're dead and buried," Roy responded, unsheathing the Sword of Seals. "We do bury demons, don't we? I guess we can start today."

Kneph's remaining sword emerged in his hand from a plume of darkness. "If you were smart, you would have fled the land while there's still a land to flee from."

"If you were smart, you would have fled with your life while you still have one to live," Lucario retorted.

Kneph was unmoved. "You'll feel differently once the Tempest is upon you."

Ike made the first move, closing the gap between himself and Kneph in a blur. He made a wide swing that the wraith swooped under, and then their swords filled the springs with the repeated clashing of blades.

Link did not know the story behind Ragnell, but judging by the demon's desperate attempts to avoid it, he knew there was something special about that golden sword. And maybe it had been the combined strength of Ike and the sword, or Kneph's weariness from the last battle, but the demon was losing. Ike's strikes were not particularly fast, but left with one blade, Kneph was feeling the force behind each blow as he blocked and parried as best as he could.

And then he slipped up.

Ragnell cut through Kneph's ghostly visage. The demon released an earsplitting screech of pain and retreated into the skies, narrowly missing an aura sphere thrown his way. Lucario leapt into the air and gave chase.

"What's he doing!" Roy shouted in disbelief, watching the battle continue into the sky. "He should be trying to keep Kneph close to the ground! **We** can't fly!"

"Maybe that's what he's trying to do," Link suggested. There would have been no point in putting a team together if Lucario intended on fighting alone.

"Perhaps, but he will need our assistance," Marth said. "If Lucario were able to slay all of the demons himself, he would have done so a long time ago."

Ike was carving something into the ground with Ragnell. Link could only wonder what he was up to, though his previous battle experience with Ike led him to assume that he was preparing to hurl boulders whenever Kneph was within range.

An explosive discharge of energy brought his attention back into the skies. An aura sphere collided with Kneph's own spin on the technique, a ball of lightning. Once the blast cleared, the demon was retreating further into the skies.

Kneph pointed the blade to the darkest regions of the Tempest, calling for its power. A bolt of lightning engulfed the sword, giving it a violet sheen and a steady current of electrical power.

"You are an abomination and your very existence is an affront to Father!" the demon hissed acidly. With the swing of his corrupted blade, a spiraling bolt of lightning hurtled towards Lucario.

"If he feels that strongly now, I wonder how he's going to feel after I slay one of his 'children,'" the pokemon taunted, vaulting aside through the air. The spiraling bolt returned like a boomerang and ensnared Lucario's right forearm as an electrical rope. There was no pain, but his entire arm was stricken with paralysis; even attempts to move his fingers proved daunting.

A short cackle erupted from Kneph's maw. "That's only a fraction of the powers I can harness from the Tempest!"

Down below, Link squinted into the sky. "What's happening?"

Roy sighed impatiently and said, "They're too far to see."

"I have a bad feeling," Peach murmured.

"Then let's do something about that," Ike said. He thrust Ragnell into the hard earth and it began to shake. The pattern he had carved into the ground was a crude but large circle, and the platform dismounted and slowly rose into the air. "What are you waiting for? Are you just going to stand and watch?"

Link trusted that Ike had the power to pull off such a feat and followed the others onto the floating piece of earth. Ike thrust the blade further down and the platform began to rise much more quickly. Soon, they were high enough to see Lucario and Kneph more clearly, and their apparent standoff.

"Some strange power has gripped Lucario's arm," Marth observed. "Perhaps that is the source of his hesitation."

"So he's going to need all the help he can get," Roy said, pondering the situation. He looked to Peach with an idea. "Hey Peach, do you think your air bullets could reach Kneph from here?"

"I suppose so," the princess replied with a touch of uncertainty, "but he is a master of wind and lightning. It won't hurt him much."

"It just needs to be distracting."

Link watched with great interest as Peach extended her arms forward and a twisting spiral of wind encompassed each of her forearms. She pushed each arm forward one after the other like two rhythmic pistons, releasing a bit of energy with each push. The 'air bullets' curved and spun, homing in on Kneph and pelting the demon repeatedly.

Kneph turned his attention to the source of the nuisance with a quiet growl. As he contemplated a way to deal with the unwanted combatants, he realized his grave mistake just in time to take a kick in the face from Lucario. He backed away and gave the pokemon a loathing gaze.

"What's that? Are you trying to tell me that my attack wasn't fair?" Lucario jeered. "What would a demon know about _fairness?_"

Kneph chuckled. "You're right. There are no rules in this fight!" He grunted as he threw his sword forward, spinning it into a disk of lightning. It cut right through Lucario, or rather, the image of him that was left behind; the real Lucario suddenly appeared behind the demon and delivered another powerful kick.

"I hate that technique!" Kneph declared in a raspy scream, grabbing Lucario's leg and spinning him through the air before throwing him the direction of the floating platform.

Lucario recovered just in time to make a graceful landing. His right arm hung limply as the electrical bindings still brimmed with life.

Marth was tempted to pry it away with the Falchion. "Your arm is..."

Lucario turned away. "Don't worry about me – we need to take Kneph down before he starts siphoning any more energy from the storm. We can't give him any breathing room, or much worse is headed our way."

Kneph's sword was returning like a boomerang, but a well-placed air bullet changed its trajectory and sent it careening away. Whatever annoyance the demon was feeling with Peach's interference escalated tenfold when an arrow with a bomb strapped to it exploded in his face. The pain brought back unpleasant memories of the price he paid the first time he fought Link.

He pointed a bony finger at the floating platform just long enough for the Tempest to respond. A massive bolt crashed down but met with Link's green barrier. The magic shield cracked and shattered under the attack, but held up long enough to deflect it away.

"Nice one!" Roy heaped on the praise, but Link felt undeserving of it. He hadn't planned on summoning the barrier; it was more of an instinct.

Kneph's sword finally found its way back to him. The vibrant energy transferred from the blade to the wraith's body. With the sword outstretched, the demon spun into a drill. Lucario knew exactly what Kneph was planning and summoned a barrier of his own before leaping into the sky to meet him head on.

Lucario was overpowered and his aura barrier dissipated under the pressure. Kneph took advantage and drove him deep into the side of the mountain. Only the demon emerged from the hole, a victorious grin plastered across his horrific face. Slowly, that grin gave way to frustration as he realized that he made a similar mistake during the battle in the temple ruins. With Lucario buried in the mountain, he was free to launch a surprise attack from practically any angle under the earth. Kneph had a solution, but needed the Brotherhood off of his back long enough to pull it off.

Ike seethed at the sight of Lucario losing to Kneph but tightened his grip on Ragnell and continued to concentrate on keeping the platform afloat. When the wraith's form once again wrapped itself in destructive power and became a twisting drill of lightning zigzagging through the air, Ike knew an opportunity had presented itself.

"He's coming straight for us," he warned in a low growl, ripping the sword from the earth. A few seconds later, Kneph burrowed into the bottom of the floating mound, shredding it to pieces. The Brotherhood scattered to the summit below, but Ike took the demon head on by throwing Ragnell.

The spinning blade stopped Kneph in his tracks. "Aether!" Ike cried out as he grabbed the sword and spun into a blur. The demon's hand clutched Ike's arms, ending his attack before it could really begin. Confused and dazed by the sudden interruption and Kneph's newfound strength, Ike found himself a lot closer to the demon's face than he wished.

"Like a child in awe, you follow Lucario everywhere without really knowing anything. Would you be so loyal if you knew the truth?" Kneph cackled at the thought. Ike's nostrils burned from his rancid breath. "It doesn't matter; you're both heading to an early grave anyway!"

With little warning Ike was tossed forward like a piece of trash. He wondered why Kneph hadn't attacked him while he had the chance, and even considered him a fool for not doing so. The bolt of lightning that struck him soon afterwards made it abundantly clear that the opportunity wasn't lost on the demon after all.

Ike's limp body plummeted towards the summit below, saved by a small whirlwind conjured by Peach. He was surrounded by his teammates; even Roy looked a touch worried, until Ike suddenly sat up. A smirk slowly emerged across his face.

"Is that the best he's got? I've been hit harder, so I'm a little disappointed. I expect more from the demons."

"You might get your twisted wish soon enough," Roy murmured, observing the new, erratic behavior of the Tempest's lightning.

"Listen, world-ending storm!" Kneph called out to the skies. "I summoned you, now I command you to lend me some of your destructive power!" The demon held his hands above his head as if receiving a gift from the heavens. Several streams of lightning pierced through the clouds, converging in Kneph's hands. The electrical energy condensed into a large volatile sphere at Kneph's beckoning.

"Look at that power!" Roy exclaimed in horror. "All of that concentrated energy...it's a bomb!"

"It's not just a bomb," Kneph boasted, basking in his power. "It is a mole. It will burrow into the mountain until it reaches the base, and only **then** will it explode!"

"There won't be much left for your father to consume if you just start blowing everything up!" Link screamed, attempting any type of reasoning.

Kneph replied with a flippant snicker without even realizing it. "No one cares about a few gorons." His fingers danced excitedly with anticipation, he could not wait to obliterate Death Mountain. But before he could drop the bomb, his vision was blinded by a golden arrow that penetrated the heart of the sphere. The energy reacted negatively, causing the sphere to implode and shower Kneph in painful light.

"I do," Zelda said, letting the golden bow trail from her fingers into wisps. "I care about everything within my land, and I will defend it with my life."

* * *

_**Zelda joins the fray! Link's attempts to protect her may be for naught...or maybe Kneph is the one that needs protection from her!**_

_**The final battle concludes in the next chapter, but we may also get some insight into some events that took place between the prologue and chapter 1...**_


	24. CH 23: Wisdom and Courage

_**This is it! The final (numbered) chapter! Will the Brotherhood prevail?**_

* * *

**Chapter 23 – Wisdom and Courage**

The wraith flew into the confines of the floating palace within the void, his spindly fingers tightly clasped around his head. His oily blood poured down along his face, and through one of his sunken eye sockets, he spotted a sibling at the end of a grand hallway.

The woman, very much human in appearance and draped in a white dress decorated in gold sashes, glided over to him. The light from the translucent walls reflected oddly across her silver headdress. Personally, he always found her appearance to be arrogant and sickening. Today was no different.

She jabbed two fingers against Kneph's wound and inscribed a rune that sealed it. At no point did her grey eyes focus on what she was doing. It appeared that she was fixated on something much more interesting, wherever it was she was staring. That was one of her many unnerving traits.

"Brother, you should know better than to desecrate our home with your wounds," she said suddenly, her tone monotonous and devoid of emotion.

"Did I have a choice?" Kneph hissed in reply. "The mission is complete."

The deafening silence that ensued annoyed Kneph. "Do you not believe me? I slew the hero myself."

"It is not I that casts doubt upon your accomplishment," the woman responded cryptically.

"Well then, who is it? ...Spit it out, Safine!"

"The Globe of Guidance says otherwise."

A cold fear shook Kneph. Safine glided down the west wing of the hall, leading her brother to the resting place of the globe. An oversized set of glass doors opened at her beckoning, leading to a cylindrical room devoid of any furniture. An unnatural light emanated from the walls themselves, focused on an ashen pedestal in the center of the room.

A dark substance bubbled up from the platform, hoisted into the air by an unknown power and forged into a liquid sphere. The Globe of Guidance flashed violently at its core, hosting a storm of power that even the demons didn't fully understand; having it been bestowed upon them by their father, they never questioned it.

The light in the room was drained as the globe's power was called upon. The murky core of the globe slowly gave way to a distant scene of a land of rolling green hills and a bright blue sky, oblivious to its recent tragedy. A sharp light suddenly radiated from the land and obscured their vision, though it was impossible to pinpoint its location from that angle.

"The intense aura of a special soul still burns brightly in that world, particularly in the land of Hyrule," Safine stated, letting the light fully encompass her sight. "Father will not be pleased."

Kneph growled. "That means..."

"There is another..."

* * *

"You!" Kneph shrieked in realization. "You are the one that eluded me for all of these years!"

Zelda said nothing, but bore into the demon with a defiant gaze as he continued his meltdown.

"Why did I not obliterate her after all of this time?" Kneph knew the answer to his own question. If the last royal was killed, it would be a crippling blow to the kingdom and spark an exodus. There would be less people to terrorize and murder, making his job dull. Yet, how was he supposed to know that a simple princess held a champion soul? Peach was considered a fluke by the demons, but then, none of them really understood what it took to give a soul that special branding.

He caught Zelda's gaze and it brought him back to the present.

"It's not too late to fix this!" He dove for Zelda with his sword outstretched, filling the skies with his indignant scream. The princess was deceptively agile and leapt aside, opening her palm and releasing a fiery blast that caught the demon in the face. Kneph slammed against the mountain wall; his ghostly appearance was more solid than ever.

Zelda had never been so close to him before, and took the moment to study the monster that had terrorized Hyrule for so long. Just the sight of him made her blood boil.

"To think that all of your random killing sprees didn't bring you any closer to your goal," she said, emasculating his pride. "That sounds like an appropriate conclusion to your story...a sad, pitiful story."

Kneph had a few choice words of his own for Zelda. "You wear a brave face, but for a princess that claims to care about everything within her land, it must be eating your core knowing that all of those sprees could have been prevented had you just given yourself up from the beginning!"

_I didn't know_, Zelda thought, and quickly realized that she was falling into his trap. She summoned Nayru's Love, shielding herself from the sudden lightning bolt cast from Kneph's finger. The bolt was reflected and clipped Kneph's form. The demon looked more annoyed than hurt.

Link lunged for Kneph, spinning into a blur with the Master Sword. The demon narrowly avoided the spinning slash, letting Link whirl to a halt by Zelda, using his body to shield her. There was a subtle fury in his cerulean eyes that unnerved Kneph. The wraith would never admit to being afraid of anything, but he certainly was cautious.

"Don't listen to him, princess!" Link exclaimed. "Nothing short of his demise would have ever stopped his killing sprees."

"Well isn't this a special moment! A princess and her knight..." Kneph outstretched his fingers, producing electrical tendrils from the tip of each one. The tendrils whipped the ground before ensnaring Link and Zelda, holding them high above. "Now you can look longingly into each other's eyes as you die slowly."

"FORE!"

Peach swung the golf club with all her might. The impact sent Kneph reeling into the mountain wall once again, and bent the metal of the club in the process.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," Peach said, tossing the broken club aside. She then winked at the demon, "forgot about the rest of us, huh?"

Lucario burst through the rocky wall and grappled Kneph into a full nelson; the spell that once inflicted his right arm had worn off. "I think he forgot about me too! Your form is awfully solid for a wraith. Is this a side effect of the Tempest...or are you simply dying?"

Zelda closed her eyes and held her arms outward in an attempt to receive the bow and light arrow once more. "If I strike him with the arrow now, it will surely be his end."

Link looked concerned and asked, "Do you have enough power to do that again?"

"I...may need some time," she admitted. It was much harder summoning the light arrow again so soon.

Kneph's form suddenly became wispy and transparent again, and he quickly slipped out of Lucario's grasp. He countered with a wide slash of his sword, forcing Lucario to roll away. He chased after him but found his blade clashing with Marth's.

"We never quite got our rematch since the battle in the ruins," the prince said, making a quick jab. The demon hissed in reply.

Marth began a marvelous combination of slashes with the Falchion that resembled a dance; his feet glided across the ground like a waltz on the still surface of a pond. Every elegant twist of his wrist, every cut of the air left a trail of demon blood along the earth beneath his feet.

Marth did a somersault over Kneph, leaving a wall of water in his wake that collapsed upon and disoriented the demon. He started his Dancing Blade attack again from behind, cutting into Kneph once more until the demon could no longer take it and released an earsplitting screech.

A massive bolt of lightning drilled into the ground, separating Marth and Kneph. When the dust settled, some of the clouds above had descended upon them with frightening immediacy. Kneph disappeared into the mist with a pained laugh. Lightning bolts were hurled Marth's way, forcing the prince to take cover behind a large rock near one of the hot springs.

Roy's heart was beating faster than ever. "Is he trying to escape?" he asked. They were too close to winning this to let Kneph run away again.

"No, this is just one of his last defenses," Lucario said. "When he summoned the Tempest, he was making it clear that he had no intention of returning to Azazel without completing his task."

A bolt of lightning cut through the mist and struck the ground close to where they were. Lucario countered by tossing an aura sphere in the direction of the bolt.

"Nice try," Kneph's voice taunted, a whisper riding along a breeze. He lashed out with another bolt.

Ike stabbed the ground with Ragnell and molded the earth before him, erecting a rocky wall shaped like a semicircle. He motioned for the others to take refuge behind the wall.

Roy found himself somewhat annoyed by Ike's antics. "You really shouldn't be doing that while you're still hurt."

Ike brushed him off, "I told you already that he didn't hurt me much."

"Do you want to bring attention to us?" Lucario interjected irately. A bolt of lightning crashed against the wall and took a piece of it off as if to make Lucario's point for him.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful for the protection, but we're sitting ducks here," Peach said. "Does anyone have a plan?"

"We strike him dead," Zelda stated definitively. She closed her palms as the golden bow with a single arrow materialized in her grip. "This is the last arrow I can summon. If we can't keep him still..."

"If it doesn't work, we'll find another way," Peach told her.

"No, this is going to work," Link growled abruptly. "I'm going to make it work, and I've got a plan..."

Another bolt crashed into the earthen barrier. Peach emerged from the debris and waved her arms forward, summoning a blast of wind that cut a swath down the middle of the mist. Link hurdled over the barrier and into the opening Peach gave him, where he spotted Kneph near the mountain wall. He once again found himself crossing swords with the demon.

"You are not as fast as the blue swordsman," Kneph taunted. "Why did you join a team that didn't need you?"

"Do you really want me to switch places with Marth? Because last time the two of you went at it, you were losing pretty badly."

Link made a broad slash with the Master Sword. Kneph dove into the mist for protection, which only served to annoy his opponent.

"No more running!" Link shouted into the haze, hurling the gale boomerang around him. The mist was pushed outward, revealing Kneph.

"I see that you are eager to be buried a second time," Kneph said coolly, keeping his distance.

Link spun the Master Sword in a taunting motion. "You know, I can understand your cowardice. You don't have a soul, so you can't be reincarnated when you die. When you're gone, you're gone, and no one will care. Just one of the 'perks' of being a demon, I guess."

"It's better than being a weak mortal with a meaningless existence. You are simply ants waiting for your overlords to crush you...and then there are freaks like you that come back to be crushed a second time."

"Meaningless, really?" Link questioned with a chuckle. "You have no friends, your siblings are probably as grotesque and cutthroat as you are, your 'father' cowers in the depths of void, and you can't experience the emotions or appreciate the things that make life worth living. It sounds like being a demon isn't all it's cracked up to be. I bet you secretly wish you were one of us _weak mortals_."

Kneph was livid. Demons had their pride, and part of that pride was self-proclaimed superiority to mortals. Kneph could not formulate his disgust in words, choosing instead to lunge at Link, and right into his trap.

Link hurled his shield forward, hitting Kneph square in the face. With his second hand free and the demon stunned, he gripped the Master Sword with both hands and cut through him with all his might. He barely gave Kneph time to scream in pain before he drove the sword into the wraith's solid body and pinned him to a rocky wall.

He backed away in awe as the demon writhed and snarled in futility. Kneph was at his mercy, the mass murderer of Hyrule reduced to a thrashing animal tacked to a wall. For a moment, Link forgot where he was. Part of his core, the boy known as Link Jensen, welled with satisfaction seeing the boogeyman get his just desserts after haunting his dreams for ages. But the hero within stirred; it was not enough to trap Kneph. The job was not done.

"Now, princess!" Link called out. He felt a gust whip against his back; Princess Peach brought forth winds to part the mist once again, revealing Zelda with the light arrow.

"You were right about one thing," Kneph suddenly said, ceasing his struggle with the Master Sword, "I don't cling to things in this life...the ones you claim are worth living for. But **you** do, and if I can't destroy you with my last breath, I will take one of those precious things from you!"

With a chilling shriek, Kneph tore his body through the Master Sword and dove for Zelda. The princess unleashed the golden power of the light arrow, but Kneph moved just enough to avoid the streak of light.

Link did not realize that he reacted until he saw the arrow barreling straight at him through the concave-shaped barrier he summoned in his outstretched hands. The light arrow rode along the curve of the barrier, shooting back from whence it came and burrowing into Kneph from behind. Any scream the demon could utter was drowned out by the whine of the light energy obliterating his being. When the light receded, Kneph's cloak-like body lay in the dirt, slowly dissolving into the black substance deemed demon's blood. The mists of the Tempest had disappeared.

Link stood over the remains, a vat of mixed emotions stirring in his stomach. Kneph was finished, and yet he could not bring himself to rejoice. He was left with more questions than answers.

"Why did you do it?" Link thought aloud. "Why would you go through the motions that would lead you here? I know what I'm fighting for, but there had to be more to you than just murdering innocent people. It was all so...pointless."

"Pity?" Kneph hissed, his face emerging from the bubbling pool. "Spare me. I did Father's wishes so that I could continue to live life as I pleased, which just happened to be grinding you ants under my heel. Perhaps you forgot what I am."

Roy pointed the tip of his sword dangerously close to the demon's face. "A lot of grinding you're doing there, dying in a molten puddle of yourself."

Link sighed. "Starting a war to consume all of the worlds...really, what's the point? What could Azazel possibly get out of this? Everyone loses in the end...even you."

Kneph uttered a small, cynical laugh. "He simply wants you to know the suffering he has. You deserve it."

"We _deserve_ it?" Link repeated incredulously. Kneph's laughing face finally melted with the rest of him, the repulsive face that haunted Link and Hyrule for so long finally cast into oblivion once and for all.

"I would not let his words confound you," Zelda said after a sigh of relief. "He was not quite what we would consider to be 'in the right mind.'"

Link shook it off, quite literally, shaking his body and letting the weariness of battle, troubling memories of Kneph's past atrocities, and future uncertainties fall away.

"You're right," he finally replied. "He was a murdering fool and we're rid of him. Everything he's ever had to say means nothing. He can't hurt anyone anymore."

Peach pointed to the sky as the sun began to break through the remnants of the Tempest, its rays beaming onto Death Mountain. "It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day after all."

"Enjoy the view," Lucario said. "We earned this moment."

"Yes," Zelda agreed. "And so has Hyrule. Today will be a day of rest, but tomorrow...tomorrow will bring the start of reconstruction."

* * *

Zelda walked down the path leading away from the castle. Her resolve was fortified, as she believed strongly in what she needed to tell the people of Hyrule. It also helped that Link was by her side.

Together, they emerged in the ruined square of the castle town. The ruins were packed to the brim with men, women, children, gorons and zoras. **This** was Hyrule, and it was awaiting the words of its princess.

She looked over the masses and cleared her throat.

"As many of you know by now...Link, our hero, is alive and well. It is with great joy and relief that I can also announce that Kneph, the demon that has plagued us for so long, has been slain!"

Link opened the palm of his hand, letting broken fragments of Kneph's mask and sword slip through his fingers and fall to the ground below. The reaction within the crowd swelled, first as a murmur and then a thunderous roar as piece after piece of the demon's possessions clattered onto the broken road below.

The princess raised a hand to calm the crowd.

"The reason I wanted to speak to you all is that Kneph now only exists in our memories, and it is where we shall leave him. Today marks a new era, an era of reconstruction. We will rebuild in the memory of those lost, as well as those in our future. Kneph will be nothing more than a footnote in the annals of Hyrule's history.

"I will not tell you a lie. Other beings like Kneph do exist, and they may one day turn their sights on Hyrule in his absence. However, we not only have Link to defend us, but the Smash Brotherhood as well."

Zelda and Link stepped aside, revealing Marth, Lucario, Roy, Peach and Ike. The Brotherhood was no longer a group working in secret, or at least that's what they decided of their presence in Hyrule. Seeing their work and dedication firsthand made Link feel proud to be a part of the Smash Brotherhood.

"These individuals, each one a hero from lands afar, also helped destroy Kneph and believe in keeping the peace," Zelda continued, recalling their deeds. "They are as deserving of praise as Link is.

"But even with their help, rebuilding will not be easy. This is why I ask all of you, every free hand, to help in restoring Hyrule. It is an arduous path we walk, but I know that we all agree that it is worth it."

Link's mind started to wander; he knew the gist of Zelda's speech since she had already recited it to him. One thing she said did stick out for him: the path towards tomorrow would indeed be arduous, perhaps even daunting.

The lingering of Kneph's death helped him realize that he was not closing a chapter in his life, but opening a brand new one. This was something much greater than the Smash Brotherhood or even Hyrule, and only a handful of people, champions or not, were going to meet it head on.

His concerns melted when he looked into the clear sky, the beautiful sky that was once strangled by Kneph's evil storm. No trace of the Tempest remained. It was that, and the fact that he only just realized that his hand was interlocked with Zelda's, that he realized two truths:

The fighting is not futile.

And anything was possible.

* * *

_**But wait, there's more! There are two more updates: the epilogue, which should wrap up some loose ends and give a hint of what to expect from Soul of a Smasher Volume II, and the afterwords, where I will reveal some background stuff and even more about the sequel. If you've got some questions about this story or the rest of the series, now is the time to ask, because I'll answer them in the afterwords.**_


	25. Epilogue: Ascending Towards Tomorrow

_**Well, this is it. One more update after this and it's done. I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. And you might have noticed a slight change to the title to reflect the current status of this story.**_

_**Some loose ends need to be tied...but for the Smash Brotherhood, there are some problems even they haven't been able to foresee!**_

* * *

**Epilogue – Ascending Towards Tomorrow**

The class of boys ran along the indoor track of Volesdale High's gymnasium under the watchful eyes of their teacher, Mr. Niko. The PE teacher was always known for his choice words and camo shorts, which baffled many (including the faculty), but his demeanor repelled any questioning.

Today, Derwin was one of many under his scrutinizing gaze. The raccoon showed almost no signs of weakness while Niko was watching, but what he didn't realize was that he was already on thin ice – and it was starting to crack.

"Derwin, you're going to run one extra lap to make up for that class you skipped!" Niko suddenly barked.

"That was two weeks ago!" the raccoon whined.

Niko thought about it. "You're right. Two extra laps."

Derwin mumbled something under his breath but kept running. Freddy came up behind him with every intent of rubbing the punishment in, but something caught his eye through one of the open doors of the gym. Derwin became suspicious when the ribbing he expected from his friend never came.

Niko suddenly blew his whistle and pointed at a kid that was clearly having trouble keeping up a good pace. "Jake! You can run, you can even jog, but you better not walk this track."

Jake let out an audible moan.

Niko didn't let up, "When you grow up in a couple of years, how will you feel when your parents realize that instead of being a doctor, you turned out to be a maggot?"

Jake tugged his hair in frustration, "What does that have to do with running in circles?"

"Have **you** ever seen a maggot run track?" Niko questioned.

"Is that a trick question?"

With Niko now occupied with Jake, Freddy saw his chance and grabbed Derwin's arm, dragging him towards one of the doors leading out into the hallway.

"What are you doing?" the raccoon complained. "Do you want to get me into even more trouble?"

"Shhh! While he's distracted!"

Derwin's eyes lit up when they entered the hallway. Leaning against the wall was Link, dressed in his trademark green garb. Link chuckled; the contrast between his tunic and the white shirt and red gym shorts of his friends was not lost on him.

"Link!"

"Keep it down!" Freddy whispered harshly. "You don't want Mr. Niko to get wind of this, do you?"

"Hey guys," Link said with a simple wave. "What's new?"

"If you're here, does that mean you killed that demon dead?" Derwin inquired with the hope of some war stories to accompany the news.

Link nodded slowly. "Kneph is dead. Hyrule is safe."

"Well?" Freddy piped up excitedly. "You gotta tell us all about it!"

"I will, I will. But that's for later. What's happened since I was gone?"

"Mr. Niko is still a jerk!" Derwin announced sourly, folding his arms at the thought of running more laps.

"Preaching to the choir," Link said, recalling his own run-ins with their PE teacher.

"That guy's a freak," Derwin continued his mini-rant. "Why does he wear camo all the time? He's never been in the military."

"And who could he be hiding from in that getup?" Freddy added on. "The bleachers are white!"

Link smiled as his friends went on. As trivial an event as it was, he missed it, and it reminded him that he had two homes.

"My dad came home over the weekend with a burg cake," Derwin said, "Can you believe it? I'm still not sure if it was a peace offering or a trap."

Freddy looked at him as if he was suddenly seeing a complete stranger. "_You didn't eat it?_"

"Of course I ate it!" the raccoon admitted, rubbing his stomach regretfully. "My soul cried a little from the shamelessness afterwards."

Freddy bore a wicked grin. "Oh really? And all of this time I thought those tiny sobs were coming from your waistline."

Derwin grabbed Freddy into a headlock. "Say that again asshole; I didn't hear you the first time!"

Link laughed and pulled them apart, "You guys would kill each other without me. But...I was wondering...about my parents..."

"Oh!" Freddy exclaimed, snapping his fingers as if he had just remembered something. "We told them everything, but they didn't really believe us."

"But my dad managed to convince them, somehow," Derwin mentioned with a shrug. "Adults are full of it. They never listen to **us**, but get another adult to say it and suddenly it's a-ok."

"Thanks for telling them," Links said, and then sighed. "I know that I made them worry, and that's why I'm going to see them next and explain everything."

"So when are you changing back? The older look is cool, but I don't think Mr. Vaughn is going to let you into the classroom looking like that." Freddy eyeballed the Master Sword in its scabbard. "Scratch that. I want to see the expression on his face if you do that. You should definitely bring the sword too. Let's see him try to give you detention then!"

Link clammed up. He wasn't sure how to break it to them. "I...don't think that's going to be happening right away."

Derwin furrowed his brows. "If you miss any more days, Mr. Niko might redirect his hate from me to you. Next week he's going to start teaching us something called Muay Thai, so...who knows what the new punishment will be?"

Link couldn't make eye contact. "It's going to be longer than that..."

"You aren't coming back, are you?" Freddy murmured. His eyes burned with a mixture of anger and betrayal.

"No, no!" Link waved his hands frantically. They were getting the wrong idea. "I AM coming back...I don't know when. It's just that...the battle was won, but the war is far from over. Azazel is still out there and he's got a lot more spawn just like Kneph."

"So what!" Freddy retorted angrily. "You killed the demon. You said Hyrule is safe. The city is safe too! Why don't you just let Lucario handle the rest? He can take that stick out of his ass and beat the rest of the demons with it!"

"That wouldn't be fair to anyone," Link whispered. "I'm part of the Smash Brotherhood now. I swore to do everything in my power to protect everyone from the demons. Yeah, I said Hyrule was safe, but the reality is that as long as Azazel exists, we're all in perpetual danger. The Brotherhood is the one thing standing between the demons and the end of the universe as we know it!"

There was an awkward silence as the gravity of what Link said set in. Derwin started to fidget; he couldn't take it anymore.

"Link, I'm not mad at you...you're protecting everybody. How can I hate you for that? But, if everything Lucario said about reincarnation is true, the only reason we ever became friends is because you died in Hyrule fighting a demon, and started a new life here. So what happens if you die again?"

Link walked up to Derwin and put his hands on raccoon's shoulders. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I could die again and I'm not really sure what that means for my soul's future. This war...if anything's worth putting your life on the line, it's gotta be this, right? You need to know that I'm fighting for the future of everything. Me, you, our parents, this school, the whole city...you shouldn't see it as me keeling over for nothing. If I die, it's **not** in vain. You wouldn't lose your best friend for nothing."

"You _better not_ die..." Freddy murmured.

Link grabbed Freddy and threw his arms around his friends' shoulders.

"Look guys, don't worry. I'll be here all day, so we can catch up when school is out. And I'll be able to visit regularly. This isn't the end of anything. Let's just say that the awkward years of high school just got a little bit more awkward. You're going to have to learn how to balance things out while I'm not here. But I **am** coming back, someway...somehow. That's a promise."

Derwin nodded and Freddy let out a defeated sigh.

"Now get back to class before you get in trouble," Link warned them playfully. He pushed Freddy and Derwin back into the gym, watching them fall in line with the rest of the boys running along the track. His eyes were fixated on the raccoon in particular.

His mind went back to what Lucario had told him earlier, just as they had touched down near the Lucent Gardens.

"_I know you're going to see your friends."_

"_Why do you say it like that? Am I not supposed to?"_

_Lucario was quiet for a moment before he said, "keep a watchful eye on the raccoon boy."_

"_Why Derwin?"_

"_Because...he is like me."_

It's funny, Link thought, you really can't tell just from looking, though it makes sense in a way...

A whistle pierced the air. "You think I didn't see you two maggots slink back in here? Five extra laps!"

* * *

Mardek, the brown-haired boy in green overalls, sat on a lone tree stump. He idly swung his legs as three gorons hauled building materials through the forest on a large wooden cart. One of the gorons waved to the child; he smiled and waved back, waiting for them to get a considerable distance away before sliding off of the stump.

"At last, the Age of Kneph has concluded," he proclaimed to no one in particular. "No longer will I have to watch that fool make mistake after mistake and ignore my advice. He has no one but himself to blame for the end of his run."

The boy started towards a nearby cave as his body begun to undergo a metamorphosis. The boy's skin darkened until it was completely black, and his clothes melted into his figure, resembling a walking, featureless shadow, save for his radiant red eyes. His limbs extended, growing to the height of an adult male by the time he entered the small cavern.

"It is time to raise the curtain on a new era of Hyrule," he said, his new and considerably deeper voice echoing. "And it would be unacceptable if anyone but me were to do it."

Mardek followed the snaking trail, lit by a few lonely torches. The cave's inhabitants, the rambunctious bats known as keese, did not dare move toward him. They shrank in his presence and folded their bulbous eyes under their wings as he continued his transformation before them. Every flicker of light revealed a new addition to his form: boots, gauntlets, and eventually a chainmail and hat.

Once he emerged from the other side of the cave, he resembled a human once again. "I guess I have Link to thank for that. He was the one person that bested Kneph, even in death. He will be rewarded eventually."

A small spring nestled near the mouth of the cave caught Mardek's interest. He stepped into the cool shade under the trees and leaned over the water, holding his face with a smile as he admired his own craftsmanship. The smiling reflection of Link peered back at him from the surface of the pool.

"I think it's time Hyrule got to know the dark side of its hero."

* * *

Roy leaned against the railing at the edge of the park. The waft of salt water calmed his burning spirits. Below him was a beach, its shores sparkling and awash in the orange light of the setting sun. The Sharya district of Centropolis was known as the marine zone, due to both its many canals and beaches. The quiet, natural tranquility easily made it Roy's favorite district, and he made it a point to visit whenever they had free time in the city.

The railing suddenly shook and squeaked from a sudden weight. Roy turned to find Lucario perched next to him.

"I've located the soul of another champion," Lucario said with little fanfare.

"So what's the holdup?" Roy asked.

"You know the process is delicate. Each one must be approached in its own way. But I think she is ready."

Roy grinned. "Another lady, huh? It's about time."

Lucario didn't respond and a silence fell between them. Roy watched as two zoras climbed out of the water and onto the sands of the beach, and briefly wondered if they could be so carefree if they knew of the war waged beyond the skies of the city.

"Things are going to get a lot harder from now on," Lucario said suddenly, the voice he projected low and solemn. "Kneph's death is a sign to the other demons that they've been underestimating us from the beginning."

Roy raised his brows. "You almost sound worried."

Lucario pointed at him accusingly and said, "The only thing that worries me is your clowning around."

Roy rolled his eyes, "Regardless of what I do or say sometimes, you know I'm in this one hundred percent."

Lucario silently agreed, though his face was pained with guilt as he wrestled with the idea of recruiting another member. He struggled to even contemplate telling Roy, but from the look he was receiving, he realized that left his poker face behind for once. He started to confess, and the flood gates had opened.

"To be honest, I am feeling a bit guilty at the prospect of pulling more people into this fight. The fact is that we're marked. Even if we disbanded the Smash Brotherhood right now and ceased all activity against the demons, Kneph's demise signified us as their mortal enemies. I don't know if I want to drag more people into our dark descent."

"Well, it's a choice right? You're not dragging anyone anywhere; it's always been a choice," Roy responded. "If whoever this new candidate is refuses, we just find the next one. The universe is a big place, there are going to be plenty of people in it who are going to want to defend it.

"And besides, if anyone dragged us into this, it's the demons. No one asked for this fight, but we're going to be the ones to finish it. We won't rest until Azazel and every one of his spawn are destroyed! Right?"

Lucario swallowed hard after hearing that. It was a tall order, and involved a higher cost than Roy could imagine, but he nodded in reply. He had made a vow long ago to destroy Azazel and all of the demons, regardless of where it took him in the end.

"You've really got to stop holding the weight of the universe on your shoulders," Roy told him with slap on the back. "We are a T-E-A-M! We're all walking the same road, heading for an uncertain tomorrow together."

"As a team, we still have a ways to go," Lucario admitted. "One day I may not be able to be your leader. We should prepare for the possibility."

"Don't talk like that. We took down a demon, our spirits should be up!"

"You yourself said that tomorrow holds uncertainties. Maybe it is time for us to face that."

"I hope that doesn't mean that you're training Ike to be your successor," Roy said, slightly agitated at the possibility. "Azazel can just devour me now if that's the case."

"No, that's not quite the plan..." Lucario mentioned cryptically, though he had to stifle a laugh.

Roy didn't quite like the subject and was determined to change it. "So about the new girl...who exactly is she?"

Lucario smiled. "You'll find out soon enough."

**- End Volume I -**

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_**I hope you stick around for one more update, where I will dish the dirt on the upcoming Soul of a Smasher Vol. II (which I've already started writing), as well as elaborate on some things presented in this story that I didn't get to flesh out within the plot itself (such as the structure of Centropolis and its 8 districts).**_


	26. Afterwords

**Afterwords: Minuet Edition**

Afterwords are a relatively new thing I've started doing with my writing. I use them for elaboration to let you, the reader, get a little bit deeper into the tale I've just woven for you. So I hope you stick around for this one last 'chapter' as I give some behind the scenes details and world elaboration. I'll also give some meatier details on Soul of a Smasher Volume II and what to expect from the overall series in the future.

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**Birth of a Saga** - I actually came up with the idea for this story in 2008 and did a brief bit of outlining for everything: characters, world structure, individual volumes, etc. I ended up shelving the idea because I was writing a lot of other stuff at the time, and actually forgot about it. In 2010, I got really inspired to write it again, and wrestled with the idea of devoting writing time to making it a reality...my choice is needless to say.

**Deleted scenes** - I was originally going to have Link meet up with Lucario the next day after the first chapter. I was also going to give him a scene with his parents early in chapter 1, but I ultimately felt these things were padding so I didn't write them. Because of that, the beginning has a faster pace than most of my other stories. Did you notice that Link had no scenes with his parents throughout the entire story? That may be remedied in a future volume...

In a reverse situation, Kneph's flashback in chapter 23 wasn't originally planned, but when I split ch22 into two chapters, I felt it was a perfect opportunity to expand a bit on the mystery that was the demons.

**Defining the elements** - I've always had a thing for the idea of elements working in harmony to compose the Earth, life, and reality. I especially love when it's worked into video games because it makes it more tangible. The elements were a major part of the story from conception. It wasn't explicitly mentioned yet in the series but the elements have a direct opposition instead of circular. So fire & water, wind & earth, nature & thunder, and light & darkness are opposite elements that are hard to mix. Spirit tends to stand alone as the 9th element, and seems to have its own unique interaction with each of the other elements.

* * *

**The Structure of Centropolis**

Centropolis is a central part of the story (lololol puns!) but the structure of the city and its many districts wasn't something that I could work into Minuet of Link as part of the story, but I don't want readers going forward with a big blank when it comes to everything outside of Volesdale. So here is a quick rundown of the districts in the city and what they are like.

_Centro_ – At the very center and heart of the city. Most of the government complexes and rich communities are here.

_Volesdale_ - Southeast, Link's home district. This district treasures natural beauty, so there are plenty of forests and the likes, including Lucent Gardens.

_Deelburg_ – Southwest. This is a bustling business district. Usually you can find the biggest malls, banks, etc. here.

_Sharya_ - West, 'water district' with plenty of beaches and canals. There is a large aquatic area for Zoras. The Crystal Cove is located off of the coast.

_Moore_ – Northwest. This is the least developed district, so it's quieter and considered unremarkable by most. Plenty of farmlands.

_Ruffleton_ – North. The further north you go, the more mountainous the region becomes. Gorons and such like this district.

_Detton Rae_ - Northeast, named after one of the city's founders. Has a lot museums, ruins, and other historical sites.

_Leffeld_ - East, 'air district,' home of the Centropolis Air Force. What do they need with an air force? Ask the military!

* * *

**The Future of Soul of a Smasher**

So here are the plans for the future of this saga. Including Minuet of Link, I expect it to last about 6-8 volumes (leaning towards 7), and each one will have a different main character. There is only one rule in place for who can be a headlining character: they have to be canon, so no OCs are going to take over the storyline. There will be new characters, but it can also be a character that's already been introduced in this story, and every character may not necessarily go through the path Link did to get to where he is. That's sort of vague so I'm just going to reveal the second story now, which will be called _**Soul of a Smasher: Nocturne of Samus**_. It shouldn't have been hard to guess who Lucario was talking about in the epilogue.

This volume will pick up two weeks after Minuet of Link. Samus is a cop in Centropolis with a haunting feeling that she should be out doing a lot more - fleeting remnants of her past life. She will receive the call of the Brotherhood, but someone will interfere with Lucario's plans. It's time to bring in some fresh blood and more Smash Brothers from the games, but everyone from Minuet of Link will still be around, as their stories have not concluded. As we saw in the epilogue, Hyrule's problems aren't quite over yet.

As the series goes on, I'm going to implement as many characters from all the SSB games as I feel I can give proper characterization to without bloating the core cast. So I'm not guaranteeing that everyone will make it (the extra Links are already out, for now), and I think some of the more outlandish characters like Mr. Game & Watch and ROB are going to have a hard time making it too, though I can slip them in if I come up with a very good idea for them. I'm also considering assist trophy characters like Lyn and Isaac, but they will always be secondary choices to the playable characters.

Keep your eyes peeled for _**Soul of a Smasher Vol. II: Nocturne of Samus**_. It should be coming soon!

© 2011-2012 ClaudeLv250


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